IN  MEMORIAL 
John  3v/ett 


ION  I 


ORTHOPHONY; 

OK,  TIO 

CULTIYATION  OF  THE  YOICE 

IN  ELOCUTION. 
§,  jptaraal  of  (Eenmttanj  (Bmtim, 

ADAPTED  TO  DR.  RUSH'S  "PHILOSOPHY  OF  THE  HUMAN  VOICE,"  AND 
THE  SYSTEM  OF  VOCAL  CULTURE  INTRODUCED  BY 

ME.  JAMES  E.  MUKDOCH. 

DESIGNED  AS  AN  INTRODUCTION  TO 

RUSSELL'S  "AMERICAN  ELOCUTIONIST." 


COMPILED  BY 


WILLIAM  EUSSELL, 

AUTHOR    OP    "  LESSONS    IN   ENUNCIATION,"    ETCl 


WITH  A  SUPPLEMENT  ON  PURITY  OF  TONE, 
BY   G.  J.  WEBB, 

PROP.  BOSTON  ACADEMY  OP  MUSIC 


THIRTY-NINTH  EDITION. 


BOSTON: 
JAMES    R.    OSGOOD    AND    COMPANY, 

Late  Ticknor  &  Fields,  and  Fields,  Osgood,  &  Co. 
I  87  I. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1846,  by 

William  Russeli, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 

Nation  deft* 


TO 

DR.  JAMES  RUSH, 

WHOSE  WORK  ON 

THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  THE  HUMAN  VOICE, 

BAS   RENDERED   DEFINITE  AND   EXACT  INSTRUCTION  PRACTICABLE  III 

ELOCUTION, 

THE    FOLLOWING    MANUAL 
is 
RESPECTFULLY   DEDICATED 


54  1  f>!»5 


PREFACE. 


The  design  of  the  exercises  presented  in  this  manual,  is  to  furnish 
the  groundwork  of  practical  elocution,  and  whatever  explanations  are 
needed  for  the  training  of  the  organs  and  the  cultivation  of  the  voice.  — . 
The  system  of  instruction,  adopted  in  the  present  volume,  is  founded 
on  Dr.  Rush's  treatise,  "  The  Philosophy  of  the  Human  Voice,"  and  is 
designed  as  a  practical  synopsis  of  that  work,  with  the  addition  of 
copious  examples  and  exercises,  selected  for  the  purpose  of  facilitating 
the  application  of  theory  to  practice.  We  hope,  however,  that  the  use 
of  this  manual  will  induce  students  and  teachers  to  consult,  for  them- 
selves, that  invaluable  source  of  instruction,  for  an  ample  and  complete 
statement  of  the  theory  of  vocal  culture,  in  connection  with  an  exact 
analysis  of  the  vocal  functions. 

Tne  manual  now  offered  as  an  aid  to  the  business  of  instruction,  con- 
tains,—  besides  a  compendious  view  of  the  system  of  Dr.  Rush,  —  the 
practical  method!  of  instruction  introduced  by  Mr.  James  E.  Murdoch, 
and  taught  by  Mr.  Francis  T.  Russell,  in  that  part  of  elocution  which 
comprises  phonation,  or  the  formation  of  vocal  tone,  and  orthophony % 
or  the  training  of  the  vocal  organs,  on  the  rudiments  of  articulation, 
force,  "stress,"  pitch,  and  the  other  elements  of  "expression,"  —  in- 
cluding the  whole  organic  discipline  of  "vocal  gymnastics." 

The  exercises  imbodied  in  the  following  pages,  are  designed  equally 
for  the  assistance  of  two  classes  of  students,  —  at  very  different  stages 
of  progress  in  general  education,  but  requiring,  alike,  the  benefit  of  a 
thorough-going  course  of  practice  in  elocution; — young  learners, 
whese  habits  of  utterance  are,  as  yet,  forming ;  and  adults,  whose  pro- 
fessional duties  involve  the  exercise  of  public  speaking.  To  the  former, 
thia  man  lal  will  furnish  the  materials  for  a  progressive  cultivation  and 
development  of  the  vocal  organs,  for  the  useful  purposes  of  education, 
and  as  a  graceful  accomplishment.  To  the  latter,  it  affords  the  means 
of  correcting  erroneous  habit  in  the  use  of  the  organs  of  speech,  and  of 
acquiring  the  command  of  an  easy,  healthful,  and  effective  mode  of 
managing  the  voice,  in  the  act  of  reading  or  speaking  in  public. 

The    p'an    adopted,   in   arranging   the  sul  sequent  exercises,   pre 
Bents  tht   various  departments  of  elocution  in  the  following  order 
1* 


VI  PREFACE. 

1 1.  The  function  of  breathing,  as  a  preliminary  to  the  use  of  the  voice. 
—  2.  The  practice  of  enunciation,  in  the  act  of  articulating  elementary 
Bounds  and  syllables,  and  of  pronouncing  words.  —  3.  The  study  of  the 
various  "  qualities  "  of  the  voice,  as  an  instrument  of  sound,  and  the 
training  of  the  organs,  with  reference  to  the  formation  of  " purity  ,"  ful- 
ness, vigor,  and  pliancy  of  voice.  —  4.  The  study  and  practice  of  force, 
'  stress,"  "melody,"  pitch t  "slide,"  "wave"  "monotone,"  and  "semi- 
tone," "time,"  "quantity"  "movement?1  "rhythm"  metre,  and  pause, — 
Ti:h  a  view  to  organic  discipline  and  the  command  of  the  voice,  ir. 
emphasis  and  "  expression,"  —  the  appropriate  utterance  of  thought  and 
emotion. 

To  adapt  the  work  to  the  purposes  of  practical  instruction,  and  to  ren- 
der it  convenient,  as  a  class-book,  those  parts  which  are  most  important 
to  learners,  are  distinguished  by  "leaded"  lines,  and  larger  type; 
and  these  are  intended  either  to  be  impressed,  in  substance,  on  the 
memory,  or  to  be  practised  as  exercises.  The  portions  of  the  work 
which  are  in  smaller  type,  contain  the  theory  and  the  explanations 
requisite  for  the  guidance  of  the  adult  student  and  the  teacher. 

The  sentential  or  grammatical  department  of  elocution,  —  that  which 
concerns  the  modifications  of  voice,  for  the  purposes  of  strictly  intellec- 
tual communication,  the  adapting  of  the  voice  to  the  structure  of  sen- 
tences in  prose,  and  stanzas  in  poetry,  —  involves  a  more  extensive 
study  of  "slides,"  (inflections,)  emphasis,  and  pausing,  together  with  pro- 
sodial  elocution,  or  the  regulation  of  the  voice  in  the  reading  of  verse. 
The  full  discussion  and  practice  of  these  branches,  are  reserved  for  a 
separate  course  of  study,  as  prescribed  in  the  "American  Elocution- 
ist," to  which  the  present  manual  is  intended  as  an  introduction.  In 
that  volume  will  also  be  found  an  extended  course  of  practice  in  articu- 
lation and  in  pronunciation,  with  remarks  on  the  character  of  cadence  ; 
and,  in  addition  to  the  vocal  part  ot  elocution,  an  outline  of  the  princi- 
ples of  gesture,  and  a  collection  ot  pieces  for  practice  in  reading  anc 
declamation. 

The  stereotype  process,  adopted  in  this  new  edition  of  the  present 
vv:;Ac,  enables  the  publishers  to  offer  it  in  a  more  compact  shape,  with- 
out diminishing  the  actual  extent  of  the  matter ;  while  the  '\ew  arrange- 
ment of  the  chapters,  and  the  addition  of  the  Tables  of  Orthophcny, 
wi..,  it  is  thought,  render  the  volume  more  useful  as  a.  manual  for 
scLools  and  academies. 

1  The  arrangement  adopted  in  this  improved  edition  of  the  Orthophony,  Is 
intended  to  fa  ilitate  the  business  of  instruction,  by  presenting  more  promi- 
nently ihose  parts  of  elocution  which  are  most  important  in  practice.  The 
chapter  on  the  structure  and  actior.  of  the  vocal  organs,  has  been  transferred, 
therefore,  to  the  appendix.  But  adult  students  may  derive  advantage  from 
perusing  it,  before  comm  mcing  the  practice  of  the  various  exercises. 


INTRODUCTORY  OBSERVATIONS. 


ORTHOPHONY  OR   THE   SYSTEMATIC    CULTIVATION  OF 
THE  VOICE. 

The  term  orthophony  is  used  to  designate  the  art  of  cultivating  the 
voice,  for  the  purposes  of  speech,  reading,  declamation,  recitation,  or 
singing.  This  art,  like  all  others,  is  fuunded  on  certain  principles, 
the  knowledge  of  which  constitutes  science.  The  principles  of 
orthophony,  are  derived  from  the  sciences  of  anatomy  and  phys- 
iology, as  regards  the  structure  and  action  of  the  vocal  organs,  from 
the  science  of  acoustics,  as  regards  the  formation  of  sound,  in  gen 
eral.  and  from  the  science  and  art  of  music,  as  regards  the  regu 
laiion  of  vocal  sound,  in  particular. 

Orthophony  is,  to  elocution,  what  solfeggi,  and  other  rudimental 
exercises,  are  to  music,  —  a  course  of  elementary  discipline,  for  the 
systematic  cultivation  of  the  voice.  We  may,  it  is  true,  read  well, 
just  as  we  may  sing  well,  "  by  ear,"  or  the  teaching  of  nature, 
merely.  But  cultivation  gives  us,  in  both  these  uses  of  the  voice,  the 
immense  advantages  of  knowledge,  science,  and  skill.  Furnished 
with  these  aids,  and  directed  by  discerning  judgment  and  good  taste, 
the  cultivated  reader  or  speaker  has  all  the  advantages  of  the  culti- 
vated singer,  as  regards  the  true  and  effective  use  of  his  organs. 

The  preparatory  training  and  discipline  of  the  voice,  for  the  pur- 
poses Df  reading,  recitation,  and  declamation,  are  of  incs.lculable 
value,  whether  as  regards  the  organic  results  connected  with  the 

1  The  terms  phonation,  (the  act  of  producing  vocal  sound,)  and  pho7ic,ogyi 
(tie  science  of  voice,)  are  in  current  use  among  physiologists.  But  the  sys- 
tematic cultivation  of  the  vocal  organs,  on  the  elements  of  expressive  utter- 
ance, is  a  branch  of  education  for  which  our  own  language  furnishes  inappro- 
priate designation.  The  compiler  of  this  manual  has  ventured  to  adopt,  as  a 
term  convenient  for  this  purpose,  the  word  orthophony,  —  a  modification  of 
the  corr?sponriing  French  word,  "  orthophonies1  used  to  design:. n  the  art  of 
training  the  vocal  organs.  The  etymology  of  this  term,  when  traced  to  tha 
original  Greek  words, — signilying  correct  and  voice,  —  sanctions  its  use  iu 
elocution,  on  the  same  g::'md  with  that  of  "  orthoepy,"  in  grammar. 


8  IN1R0DUCTI0N. 

easy,  vigorous,  and  salutary  exertion  of  the  voice,  or  the  healthy  ex 
pansion  of  the  chest,  and  the  inspiring  glow  of  vivid  emotion,  which 
is  indispensable  to  effective  expression.  Dr.  Rush's  exact  and  scien- 
tific analysis  of  elocution,  in  its  connection  with  the  action  of  the 
organs  of  voice,  enables  the  teacher  to  carry  elementary  cultivation  to 
an  extent  previously  unattainable,  and,  even  yet,  too  little  known  by 
those  who  have  not  paid  special  attention  to  the  subject.  The  actual 
benefits,  however,  arising  from  the  practical  applications  of  Dr. 
Rush's  system,  are  equally  felt  in  the  exactness  of  intelligence,  which 
it  imparts,  regarding  all  the  expressive  uses  of  the  voice,  and  the 
force,  freedom,  and  brilliancy  of  effect,  which  it  gives  to  the  action  of 
the  vocal  organs,  whether  in  the  utterance  of  expressive  emotion,  or 
of  distinctive  meaning  addressed  to  the  understanding,  by  the  process 
of  unimpassioned  articulation. 

The  methods  of  practical  training,  founded  on  the  theory  and  the 
suggestions  of  Dr.  Rush,  are  attended  by  a  permanent  salutary  influ- 
ence of  the  highest  value.  They  produce  a  free  and  powerful  exer- 
tion of  the  organs  of  respiration,  a  buoyancy  of  animal  life,  an  exhil- 
aration of  spirits,  and  an  energetic  activity  of  the  whole  corporeal 
frame,  —  all  highly  conducive  to  the  well-being  of  the  juvenile  pupil, 
not  less  than  to  his  attainment  of  a  spirited,  effective,  and  graceful 
elocution.  The  correspondent  benefits  conferred  on  adults,  by  a  vig- 
orous course  of  vocal  gymnastics,  are  of  perhaps  still  higher  moment, 
for  the  immediate  purposes  of  life  and  usefulness.  The  sedentary 
habits  of  students  and  professional  men,  render  them  liable  not  only 
to  organic  disability  of  utterance,  and  to  injury  of  the  lungs,  but 
to  numerous  faults  of  habit,  in  their  modes  of  exerting  the  organs  of 
speech,  —  faults  which  impair  or  counteract  the  intended  effect  of  all 
their  efforts  in  the  form  of  public  reading  or  speaking.  The  daily 
practice  of  vocal  exercises,  is  the  only  effectual  means  of  invigorating 
ihe  organic  system,  or  correcting  faults  of  habit  in  utterance,  and  the 
surest  means,  at  the  same  time,  of  fortifying  the  inward  frame  against 
tie  exhausting  effects  of  professional  exertion,  when  either  pursued 
too  long  in  succession,  or  practised  at  too  distant  intervals,  —  both 
serious  evils,  and  nearly  equal  in  the  amount  of  injury  which  they 
occasion. 

The  compiler  of  the  present  work,  could  enumerate'  many  cases 
in  which,  voice  and  health,  equally  impaired,  have  been  restored  in 
a  few  months,  or  even  weeks,  of  vocal  training,  —  and  still  more  in 
which  new  and  brilliant  powers  of  expression,  have  been  elicited  in 
individuals  who  have  commenced  practice  with  little  hope  of  success, 


INTRODUCTION.  U 

and  with  little  previous  ground  for  such  hope ,  —  confirmed  wrong 
habits  of  utterance,  debilitated  organs,  and  sinking  health  having  all 
united  their  depressing  and  nearly  ruinous  influence  on  the  whole 

man.1 

It  will  be  perceived,  by  referring  to  the  subjoined  expressions  of 
opinion,  that,  in  pressing  this  subject  on  general  attention,  there  is 
ample  professional  authority  for  the  expectation  of  invaluable  benefits, 
as  the  result  of  the  systematic  vocal  training  recommended  in  this 
volume. 

Opinions  of  Gentlemen  of  the  Medical  Profession,  regarding  Mr,  Mur- 
doch's System  for  the  Cultivation  of  the  Voice. 

"Boston,  July  29,  1842. 
"I  have  carefully  examined  Mr.  Murdoch's  system  of  Vocal  Gymnas- 
tics. It  is  based  upon  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  anatomy  and  phys- 
iology of  the  larynx,  or  organ  of  the  voice.  All  the  details  of  the  sys- 
tem seem  to  me  to  be  practical,  ingenious,  interesting,  and  in  accurate 
conformity  to  scientific  principles.  Its  obvious  utility  in  developing  the 
functions  of  the  human  larynx,  and  giving  flexibility,  beauty,  facility, 
and  permanent  power  to  the  voice ;  and  its  eminent  effect  both  in  the 
prevention  and  cure  of  the  diseases  to  which  public  speakers  are  liable; 
give  it  a  strong  claim  upon  the  attention  of  the  Teachers  in  our  Schoob 
and  Colleges,  our  Youth,  and  all  whose  duties  demand  a  frequent  o- 
great  use  of  the  voice.  Edward  Reynolds,  Jr.,, 

"  We  fully  concur  with  Dr.  Reynolds  in  the  opinions  above  expressed 

Geo.  Hayward, 
D.  Humphreys  Storer." 

"July  30,  1842. 

"  The  exercise  of  Vocal  Gymnastics,  as  recommended  by  James  E 

Murdoch,  being  founded  on  a  correct  knowledge  of  the  anatomy  end 

physiology  of  the  vocal  apparatus,  cannot  fail,  if  properly  practised, 

under  his  direction,  to  develop  and  strengthen  the  voice.    Tersons  of 

1  Mr.  Murdoch,  —  whose  system  of  orthophony  is  imbodied  in  this  volume 
—  seemed,  at  one  time,  while  pursuing  a  profession  in  which  the  most  intense 
exertion  of  the  vocal  organs  is  perpetually  required,  destined  to  sink  under 
the  effects  of  over-exertion  ;  but,  having  seasonably  turned  his  attention  to  the 
systematic  practice  of  vocal  gymnastics,  he  recovered  his  tone  of  health,  and 
gained,  to  such  an  extent,  in  power  and  depth  of  voice,  as  to  add  to  his  pre- 
vious range  in  the  latter,  a  full  octave,  within  the  space  of  some  months.  On 
devoting  himself  to  the  daily  occupation  of  conducting  classes  in  the  practica 
of  regulated  vocal  exercise,  the  result  continued  to  be  a  constant  accession  of 
vocal  power  and  compass  ;  and  on  returning  to  the  practice  of  his  early  pro- 
fession, in  which  he  is  now  so  distinguished,  his  utterance  was  at  onca 
•emarked  for  its  round,  deep,  rich,  and  lull  tone. 


10  INTRODUCTION, 

delicate  constitutions  and  feeble  voices,  will  receive  great  benefit  from 
the  practice  of  his  system;  as  it  is  well  calculated  to  give  a  healthy 
action  to  the  vocal  and  pulmonary  organs  j  and,  in  this  particular,  K 
is  well  worthy  the  attention  of  parents  "Winslow  Lewis,  Jr." 

"I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  a  long  interview  with  Mr.  J.  E.  Mur 
doch,  in  which  he  illustrated  his  principles  of  managing  and  giving 
strength  to  the  voice;  and  I  am  very  happy  to  say,  that  I  can  fully 
concur  with  Dr.  Lewis  in  his  statement  of  Mr.  M/s  system  of  Voca 
Gymnastics.  W.  Ciianxing." 


We  smile  at  the  enumeration  of  the  formal  apparatus  of  Athenian 
rhetorical  education,  which,  in  addition  to  its  long  and  classified  array 
of  grammarians  and  rhetoricians,  furnished,  it  is  said, ./be  gradations 
of  schools  for  different  species  of  muscular  exercise,  and  three  distinct 
classes  of  instructors  for  the  voice :  one,  to  superintend  practice  in 
fitch;  another,  to  conduct  the  exercises  in  force;  and  a  third,  to  reg- 
ulate vocal  melody  and  inflections.  Modern  taste  forbids  this  fastidi- 
ous multiplicity  and  minuteness  of  appliances ;  but  it  makes,  as  yet, 
no  adequate  provision  for  the  acquiring  of  that  moral  and  intellectual 
power,  and  that  expressive  force,  which  result  from  the  blending  of 
a  high-toned  physical  and  mental  training.  The  customary  routine 
of  academic  declamation,  consists  in  permitting  or  compelling  a  stu- 
dent to  "  speak, "  and  pointing  out  his  faults,  after  they  have  been 
committed.  But  it  offers  no  genial  inducement  to  the  exercise,  and 
provides  no  preventive  training  by  which  faults  might  be  avoided. 
Eloquence,  in  his  habits  of  voice  and  action,  a  student  may  bring 
with  him  to  our  literary  institutions ;  but  he  will  find  little  opportu- 
nity, there,  of  acquiring  or  of  perfecting  such  accomplishments,  till 
a  correct  and  graceful  elocution  is  duly  recognized  as  a  part  of  Ijheial 
education. 


CONTENTS 


Preface,     . 
Introduction, 


Page 
o 
7 


Chapter.  I.    Inspiration,    .      13 

Exercises  in  Breathing,     .      14 

First  Table  of  Orthophony,     16 

Second,        .        .        .        .17 

CnAPTER  TT.  Orthoepy,  .  18 
Tonic  Elements,  .  .  19 
bubionic  "...  22 
Atonic  "  .  .  .  23 
Vowels  and  Diphthongs,  .  24 
Consonants,  .  .  .  26 
Labial  Sounds,  .        .      20 

Dental  «    .         .         ,27 

Palatic  "  .  .  .28 
Aspirated  Element,  .  •  28 
Nasal  Sounds,  ...  28 
Lingual,  «  .  .  .29 
Exercises  in  Enunciation,  .  30 
Words    containing    "  tonic " 

elements,  ...  30 
"Words  containing  "subtonic" 

elements,  ...  34 
Words  containing  "atonic" 

elements,  ...  37 
Words    containing    syllabic 

combinations,  .  .  37 
Words  containing  classified 

elements,       ...      40 

Chapter  III.     "Quality"    of 

Voice,  ....  44 

Whispering,      ...  45 

"Pure"  Tone,  .        .        .  48 

Faults  in  "  Quality,"     .  49 

Examples  of  "  Pure  tone,"  53 

"Subdued"  Force,         .  53 

"Moderate"     "  .  54 

"  Sustained  "  Force,      .  61  j 


"  Orotund  Quality," 

*& 

"Effusive  Orotund/ 

64 

"Expulsive"    "   . 

68 

"Explosive"    "   . 

.      70 

"Aspirated  Quality," 

73 

Chapter  IV.    Force,  . 

75 

Degrees  of  Force, 

77 

Chapter  V.    "  Strfss," 

78 

"  Radical  Stress,"      . 

79 

"  Median  "     " 

84 

"Vanishing"       "    . 

91 

"'Compound"      "     • 

96 

"Thorough"       "     . 

.      98 

"  Tremor," 

>    100 

Analytic    Exercises    on 

"  Stress,"      . 

.    103 

Chapter  VI.   "  Melody," 

,    105 

Pitch, 

.    106 

"Middle"  Pitch, 

,    107 

"Low"        " 

113 

"Very  Low"     "      . 

,    115 

"High"             "      . 

.    117 

"Very  High"   "      . 

120 

"Transition"  in  Pitch, 

■    122 

"Phrases"  of  "Sentential 

Melodv,"       . 

,    126 

The  "  Slide," 

130 

The  "Slide"  of  Emotion 

133 

The  "Distinctive  Slide," 

136 

The  "Mechanical"  " 

13S 

Chapter  VIT.    Time,    .        , 

141 

"  Quantity,"      . 

141 

Exercises  in  "Quantity 

,"  144 

Pauses,     . 

152 

Poetic     and     Oratoric 

a« 

Pauses, 

«S4 

Xll 


CONTENTS. 


Pace 

Rhetorical  Pauses,         .     157 
Movement,"  .        .        .     162 

Examples    of     "Slowest 
Movemeit,"       .        .     164 

Examples      of       "Slov 
Movement/        .        .     165 

Examples   of  "Moderate 
Movement."      .        .    167 

Examples  of  "Animated 
Movement,"      .        .    169 

Examples      of       "Brisk 
Movement,"       .         .     171 

Examples     of      "Rapid 
Movement,"      .        .    173 
Accent,     .        .        .        .174 

"  Syllabic "  Accent,       .     174 

"Rhythmical"  "  .         .     176 

Examples  of  "Rhythmi- 
cal "  Accent,      .        .     179 

Prosodial  Accent,  .  .  183 
"Iambic"  Metre,  .  184 
"Trochaic"    "  .     186 

"Anapaestic""  .     186 

"Rhythmical"  and  Pro- 
sodial Accent  com- 
bined,    .        .        .187 

Chapter  VTII.    Emphasis  and 
"  Expression."      .         .     190 
Impassioned  Emphasis,    .     190 
Unim  passioned     "  .     191 

Examples,  .  .  .193 
"Arbitrary"  Emphasis,  196 
"Expression,".  .  .  200 
Third  Table  of  Orthophony', 

Elements  of  "Expression, "202 
Fourth  Table  of  Orthophony, 
Combinations    of     "Ex- 
pression,"     .         .        .    204 
Fifth  Table  of  Orthophony, 
Metre,  ....    205 


APPENDIX, 


206 


Enjrived    Illustrations    of 
the  Vocal  Organs,  .    206 


Fags 

Description  of   the   Organs 
of  Voice,  .        •        .211 

Additional  Breathing  Exer 
cises  .        .        .    218 

Analysis  of  "Slides,"  .  219 

Scale  of  "  Slides,"     .  220 

The  "Wave,"  .  .  221 

The  "Monotone,"     .  .  225 

The  "  Semitone,"      .  .  2c  1 

Cultivation  of  "  Pure  Tone,"  233 

Extracts  for  Practice,     .  24* 
Exercises  in  "Pure  Tone,"  242 
Exercises  in  "'Orotund"  Ut- 
terance,        .        .        .  253 
Exercises    in    "  Aspirated 
Quality,"      .        .        .  262 
Exercises  in  Force,      .        .  267 

Miscellaneous  Exercises,  .  277 
I.  A  Sea- voyage.  Irving,  277 
IT.  Death  of  Morris.    Scott.  280 

III.  The  Planetary  Systems. 

Ilervey.  .         .         .282 

IV.  Chatham's    Rebuke    of 

Lord  Suffolk.  .    283 

V.   Speech  of  Patrick  Henry  .284 
VI.   The  Ocean.    Byron.    .     285 
VII.  Battle  of  Waterloo.  By- 
ron.       .        .        .286 
VIII.   Satan  Rallying  the  Fall- 
en Angels.   Milton.     287 
IX.   Hymn    to  Mont  Blanc. 

Coleridge.       .        .    289 
X.  Ode  on  thePassions.   Col- 
lins.       .         .        .291 
XL   The  Uses  of  Knowledge. 

Alison.   .         .         .293 

XII.  Scene  of  Scottish  Life. 

Wilson.       .        .        291 

XIII.  Eloquence  of  John  Ad- 

ams.   Webster.        .    299 

XIV.  Heroism  of  the  Pilg  ^ms. 

E.  Everett.     .        .    299 


CHAPTER  T. 

RESPIRATION,  OR  EXERCISES  IN  BREATHING.1 

The  organs  of  voice,  in  common  with  all  other  parts  of  the  bodily 
frame,  require  the  vigor  and  pliancy  of  muscle,  and  the  elasticity  and 
animation  of  nerve,  which  result  from  good  health,  in  order  to  per- 
form their  appropriate  functions  with  energy  and  effect.  But  these 
indispensable  conditions  to  the  exercise  of  the  vocal  organs,  are,  in 
the  case  of  most  learners,  very  imperfectly  supplied.  A  sedentary 
mode  of  life,  the  want  of  invigorating  exercise,  close  and  long  con- 
tinued application  of  mind,  and,  perhaps,  an  impaired  state  of  health, 
or  a  feeble  constitution,  prevent,  in  many  instances,  the  free  and 
forcible  use  of  those  muscles  on  which  voice  is  dependent.  Hence 
arises,  to  students  of  elocution,  the  necessity  of  practising  physical 
exercises,  adapted  to  promote  general  muscular  vigor,  as  a  means  of 
attaining  energy  in  vocal  functions;  the  power  of  any  class  of 
muscles,  being  dependent  on  the  tone  of  the  whole  system. 

The  art  of  cultivating  the  voice,  however,  has,  in  addition  to  the 
various  forms  of  corporeal  exercise,  practised  for  the  general  purpose 
of  promoting  health,  its  own  specific  prescriptions  for  securing  the 
vigor  of  the  vocal  organs,  and  modes  of  exercise  adapted  to  the  train- 
ing of  each  class  of  organs  separately. 

The  results  of  such  practice  are  of  indefinite  extent :  they  are  lim- 
ited only  by  the  energy  and  perseverance  of  the  student,  excepting, 
perhaps,  in  some  instances  of  imperfect  organization.  A  few  weeks 
ef  diligent  cultivation,  are  usually  sufficient  to  produce  such  an  effect 
en  the  vocal  organs,  that  persons  who  commence  practice,  with  a 
feeble  and  ineffective  utterance,  attain,  in  that  short  period,  the  full 
command  of  clear,  forcible,  and  varied  tone. 

Gymnastic  and  calisthenic  exercises  are  invaluable  aids  to  the  culture 
and  development  of  the  voice,  and  should  be  sedulously  practised,  when 
opportunity  renders  them  accessible.  But  even  a  slight  degree  of 
physical  exercise,  in  any  form  adapted  to  the  expansion  of  the  chest, 
and  to  the  freedom  and  force  of  the  circulation,  will  serve  to  impart 
energy  and  glow  to  the  muscular  apparatus  of  voice,  and  clearness 
to  its  sound. 

'Flicre  is,  therefore,  a  great  advantage  in  always  pjactising  some 
preliminary  muscular  actions,  as  an  immediate  preparation  fur  vocal 
exercise.  These  actions  may  be  selected  from  the  system  of  prepar- 
tory  movements,  taught  at  gymnastic  establishments ;  or  they  may 
oe  made  to  consist  in  regulated  walking,  with  a  view  to  the  acqrisi- 

^ora  description  of  the  vocal  organs,  see  Appendix 

2 


14  ORTHOFHONY 

tion  of  a  firm,  easy,  and  graceful  carriage  of  the  body,  with  appro- 
priate motion  of  the  arms  and  limbs,  —  in  the  systematic  practice  of 
gesture,  in  its  various  forms,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a  free,  forc- 
ible, and  effective  use  of  the  srm,  as  a  natural  accompaniment  to 
speech,  —  or  in  the  practice  of  attitude  and  action  combined,  in  the 
most  vivid  style  of  lyric  and  dramatic  recitation,  so  as  to  attain  a  per- 
fect control  over  the  whole  corporeal  frame,  for  the  purposes  of  visible 
expression. 

Some  preliminary  exercises,  such  as  the  preceding,  having  been 
performed,  and  a  sufficient  period  for  rest  and  tranquil  breathing 
bavn.f  elapsed,  the  next  stage  of  preparatory  action  may  be  as  in  the 
fcJlovinj  directions : 

1.  Attitude  of  the  Body,  and  Position  of  the  Or  gam. 
Place  yourself  in  a  perfectly  erect,  but  easy  posture ;  the 
weight  ot  Oie  body  resting  on  one  foot ;  the  feet  at  a  moderate 
distance,  the  one  in  advance  of  the  other;1  the  arms  akimbo: 
the  fingers  passing  on  the  abdominal  muscles,  in  front,  and 
Ine  thumbs  on  ihe  dorsal  muscles,  on  each  side  of  the  spine ; 
the  chest  freely  expanded  and  fully  projected ;  the  shoulders 
CteiiJ  backward  and  downward ;  the  head  perfectly  veitical. 

2.  Exercises  in  Deep  Breathing, 
Having  thus  complied  with  the  preliminary  conditions  of 
a  free  and  unembarrassed  action  of  the  organs,  draw  in  and 
give  out  the  breath  very  fully,  and  very  slowly,  about  a  dozen 
\imes  in  succession.  Let  the  breathing  be  deep  and  tranquil, 
Dut  such  as  to  cause  the  chest  to  rise  fully,  and  fall  freely,  at 
every  effort. 

3.  Exercise  in  " Effusive"  or  tranquil  Breathing. 
Draw  in  a  very  full  breath,  and  send  it  forth  in  a  prolonged 
sound  of  the  letter  h.  In  the  act  of  inspiration,  take  in  as 
much  breath  as  you  can  contain.  In  that  of  expiration,  retain 
sill  you  can,  and  give  out  as  little  as  possible,  —  merely  suffi- 
cient to  keep  the  sound  of  h  audible.  But  keep  it  going  on, 
is  long  as  you  can  sustain  it.  In  this  style  of  respiraticn,  the 
breath  merely  effuse*  itself  into  the  surrounding  air. 


The  object  in  view,  in  this  apparently  minute  direction,  is,  to  secure 

lounging  posture,  ia 
voice,  or  the  produc- 


A  lie      uujcvi     in      i  n.  w  i     in      kin.-?     cij'j'iii  k.u  ii  y      iiuiiuiv     uir 

perfect  freedom  and  repose  of  body.     A  constrained  or  a  lounging  posture,  ia 
utterly  at  variance  with  a  free,  unembarrassed  use  of  the 


tion  of  a  clear  and  full  sound. 


RESPIRATION.  15 

4.  Exercise  in  "Expulsive"  or  forcible  Breathing. 
Draw  in  a  very  full  breath,  as  before,  and  emit  it,  with  a 
lively  expulsive  force,  in  the  sound  of  h,  but  little  prolonged 
— in  the  style  of  a  moderate  whispered  cough.  The  breath, 
m  this  style  of  expiration,  is  projected  into  the  air.  Eepeat 
this  exercise,  as  directed,  in  the  statement  preceding. 

5.  Exercise  in  "Explosive"  or  abrupt  Breathing. 
Draw  in  the  breath,  as  already  directed,  and  emit  it  with  a 
sudden  and  violent  explosion,  in  a  very  brief  sound  of  the  let- 
ter h, —  in  the  style  of  an  abrupt  and  forcible,  but  whispered 
cough.  The  breath  is,  in  this  mode  of  expiration,  thrown 
out  with  abrupt  violence.  Eepeat  this  exercise,  as  before 
directed. 

Note  to  Adult  Students  and  Teachers. 

The  habit  of  keeping  the  chest  open  and  erect,  is  indispensable  to  the  pro- 
duction of  a  full,  round  tone  of  voice.  Hut  it  is  of  still  higher  value,  as  one 
of  the  main  sources  of  health,  animation,  and  activity. 

Theellect,on  the  student,  of  the  preceding  exercises  inbreathing,  is  usually 
soon  perceptible  in  an  obvious  enlargement  of  the  chest,  an  habitually  erect 
attitude,  an  enlivened  style  of  movement,  a  great  accession  of  general  bodily 
vigor,  an  exhilarated  state  of  feeling,  and  an  augmented  activity  of  mind. 
To  persons  whose  habits  are  studious  and  sedentary,  and  especially  to 
females,  the  vigorois  exercise  of  tiiewrgans  of  respiration  and  of  voice,  is,  in 
every  point  of  view,  an  invaluable  discipline. 


16  ORTHOPHONY. 

FIRST  TABLE  OP  ORTHOPHONY. 


ORTHOEPY. 

ELEMENTS  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE, 

Classified  by  the  Ear,  as  Sounds. 
I.  Tonic,1  or  Vocal  and  Diphthongal  Elements. 

Simple, — having  one  unchanging  sound. 

The  element  of  sound,  in  every  instance,  is  indicated  by  italic  type,  and 
should  be  repeated,  by  itself,  after  the  pronunciation  of  the  whole  word,  in  a 
full,  clear,  exact,  and  distinct  style. 

1,  -4-11;  2,  A-xm;  3,  A-n;  4,  E-ve;  5,  Oo-ze,  (long;) 
L-oo-k,  (short;)2  6,  £-rr;3  7,  £-nd;  8,  I-n;  9,  Ai-x;*  10, 
LT-p;  11,  O-r;5  12,  O-n.6 

Compound, — beginning  ivith  one  sound  and  ending  in  another. 
13,  A-le;  14,  J-ce;  15,  O-ld;  16,  Oti-x;  17,  Oi-1;  18,  LT-se, 
(verb,  long  ;)   U-se,  (noun,  short.) 

II.     SUBTONIC,7    SUEVOCAL,   OR   SEMIVOWEL8    ELEMENTS. 

Simple.  —  I,  L-u-ZZ;  2,  M-ai-m;  3,  N~\i-n;  4,  22-ap,  (/zari 
but  not  rolled;)  5,  Fa-?*,  (sq/^,  not«Ze?*£;)  6,  Si-n^;  7,B-a-be; 
8,  D-wZ;  9,  G-a-^;  10,  F-al-sc;  11,  Z-one;  12,A-2-ure; 
13,  F-e;  14,  W-oe;  15,  TIf-en.     Compound.  •— 16,  J-oy. 

III.   Atonic,9  Aspirate,10  or  Mute11  Elements. 

Simple.— 1,  P-i-pe;  2,  T-en-t;  3,  C-a-£e;  4,  F-i-/e;  5, 
C-ea-.se;  6,  H-e ;  7,  TA-in;  8,  Fa-sh.  Compound. —  9, 
Ck-ur-ch. 

1  So  called  from  their  comparatively  musical  sound,  and  susceptibility  of 
tone.     Seepages  19,  20. 

2  The  same  In  quality,  but  not  in  quantity,  with  the  preceding. 

3  Middle  sound,  between  ur  and  air. 

<  Middle  sound,  between  a-le  and  e-nd. 

5  A  sound  closer  than  that  of  a  in  a-11. 

6  Closer  than  o  in  o-r. 

7  So  called  from  their  inferiority  in  tone,  when  contrasted  witli  tonics. 

8  So  called  from  their  partial  vocalily,  when  contrasted  with  atonies  Of 
mutes. 

9  So  called  from  their  want  of  tone. 

10  Formed  by  a  process  of  breathing. 

11  Deficient  in  sound 


ORTHOEPY.  17 

8EC0SD  TABLE  OF  ORTHOPHONY 


ORTHOEPY. 

ELEMENTS    OF   THE    ENGLISH   LANGUAGE, 

Classified  according  to  the  action  of  the  Organs  of  Speech  in 
Articulation. 

I.    Oral  and  Laryngial  Sounds. 

[Formed  by  Llie  mouth  and  larynx.] 

In  practising  the  sounds,  the  mouth  should  be  freely  opened,  and  fim; 
held  in  the  position  proper  for  the  formation  of  each  sound,  and  every  position 
carefully  observed. 

1,  ^4-11 ;  2,  A-xm ;  3,  A-n ;  4,  E-ve  ;  5,  Oo-ze,  L-oo-k ; 
6,  E-rr ;  7,  £-nd ;  8,  jf-n ;  9,  Ai-r  ;  10,  Z7-p  ;  11,  O-r ;  12,  O-n ; 
13,  ai-le";  14,  Lee;  15,  O-ld;  16,  Ou-v;  17,  Oi-1;  18,  U-se, 

(verb,  long  ;)  U-se,  (noun,  short.) 

II.    Labial,  or  Lip  Sounds. 
] ,  2>-a-£e ;   2,  P-i-^e  ;   3,  ilf-ai-m  ;   4,  PF-oe ;   5,  F-al-t?e , 
6;  E-i-/e. 

III.   Palatic,  or  Palate  Sounds. 
1,  C-*-ke;   2,  G-z-g;   3,  Y-e. 

IV.   Aspirate,  or  Breathing  Sounh 
H-e. 

V.   Nasal,  or  Nostril  Sounds. 

1,  N-u-n;  2,  Si-ng. 

VI.    Lingual,  or  Tongue  Sounds 

I,  L-u-ZZ;   ?,  jK-ap;   3,  Fa-r. 

Syllabic  Combinations, 
To  be  practised  with  great  force,  precision,  and  distinctness 

I.  Initial  Syllables. 

Bl  cl,  Jl,  gl,  pi,  spl ;  Br,  cr,  dr,  fr,  gr,  pr,  spr,  tr,  str*  shr 
Sm,  sn,  sp,  sk,  st. 

II.  Final  Syllables. 

Ld,  If,  Ik,  hn,  Ip,  Ise,  Is,  (lz,)  It,  he  ;  vVd,  nd,  nee,  ns,  ("uz,) 
nk,  (ngk,)  nt ;  rb,  rd,  rk,  rm,  rn,  rse,  rs,  (rz,)  rt,  rve  ;  rh  d 
rk\l,  rvid,  rrtd,  rs'd,  rv*d;  sm,  (zvi,)  s'n,  (zn,)  sp,  st ;  ks,  ct 
k\l,  (kt,)  f'd,  (ft,)  p'd,  (pt ;)  d'n,  k'n,  p'n,  v'n  ;  ble,  (bl,)  fle 
(fi,)  gle,  (gl,)  pie,  (pi,)  die,  (dl,)  tie,  (tl,)  rl ;  1st,  nst,  rst,  dst 
rdst  rnulst,  rndst ;  bVd,  pVd,  rVd ;  ngs,  ngst,  ng'dj  bles 
(biz,)  clcs,  (elz,)  fles,  (fiz,)  gles,  (glz ;)  s??is  (z?nz,)  s'us  (znz,) 
sps,  sts ;  sties,  (slz,)  stens,  (snz.) 
2* 


18  ORTHOPHONY 

CHAPTER  II. 

ORTHOEPY. 

The  term  orthoepy1  comprehends  all  that  pait  of  elocution  which 
pertains  to  the  organic  functions  of  articulation,  and  its  audible  result, 
which  ve  term  enunciation.  It  will  be  a  matter  of  convenience,  st 
the  same  time,  to  take  into  view  the  subject  of  pronunciation,  or,  in 
other  words,  enunciation  as  modified  by  the  rules  of  sound  and  accent 
which  are  drawn  from  the  usage  of  a  particular  language.  To  'pro- 
nounce a  word  properly,  implies  that  we  enunciate  correctly  all  its 
syllables,  and  articulate  distinctly  the  sounds  of  its  letters. 

We  commence  with  the  study  ol  articulation,  as  a  function  of  the 
smaller  organs  of  voice,  including  the  larynx  and  the  circumjacent 
parts,  the  mouth  and  its  various  portions  and  appurtenances.  Our 
preceding  observations  applied  to  the  use  of  the  larger  organs,  —  the 
cavity  and  muscles  of  the  chest,  &c,  and  referred  to  the  act  of  respira- 
tion, preparatory  to  the  production  of  vocal  sound,  whether  in  speech 
or  in  music.     We  are  now  occupied  with  the  functions  of  speech. 

Propriety  of  pronunciation  is  justly  regarded  as  an  inseparable 
result  of  cultivation  and  taste.  We  recognize  an  educated  person  by 
his  mode  of  pronouncing  words  ;  and  we  detect  slovenliness  in  mental 
habit,  or  the  absence  of  culture,  with  no  less  certainty,  in  the  same 
way.  Whatever  thus  holds  true  of  pronunciation,  —  a  thing  subject 
to  the  law  of  prevailing  good  custom,  merely,  and  liable,  therefore, 
to  various  interpretations  in  detail,  —  is  still  more  emphatically  appli- 
cable to  distinct  enunciation,  the  unfailing  characteristic  of  correct 
intellectual  habits,  and  the  only  means  of  exact  and  intelligible  com- 
munication by  speech. 

But  a  distinct  enunciation  is  wholly  dependent  on  the  action  of  the 
organs,  —  on  their  positions  and  their  movements,  —  on  the  force  and 
precision  of  their  execution.  The  breath  having  been  converted  into 
sound  by  the  use  of  the  component  portions  of  the  larynx,  passes  on 
to  be  modified  or  articulated  into  definite  forms  by  the  various  por- 
tions of  the  mouth,  and  by  the  action  of  the  tongue. 

A  person  of  perfect  organization  and  in  perfect  health,  —  in  an 
undisturbed  condition  of  feeling,  and,  consequently,  with  a  clear  state 
of  thought,  —  utters  his  ideas  distinctly  and  impressively,  without 
special  study.  But  defective  organization,  neglected  habit,  false 
tendencies  of  feeling,  and  confused  conceptions,  are  so  prevalent,  that 
very  few  individuals  in  a  community,  can  be  selected  as  naturally 
perfect  in  the  function  of  articulation.,  With  most  persons,  and 
especially  111  youth,  the  negligence  of  unguarded  habit  impairs  the 
distinctness  and  clearness  of  oral  expression.  The  comparatively 
inactive  life  of  the  student,  subjects  him,  usually,  to  imperfection  in 
this,  as  in  most  other  active  uses  of  the  organic  frame  ;  and  every 
individual,  —  whatever  be  his  advantages,  as  such,  —  needs  a  tho- 

1 A  term  derived  from  the  Greek  language,  and  compounded  of  two  wordf 
signifying  correct  speech. 


ORTHOEPY. 


19 


l  .^h  organic  training,  before  he  can  pass  successfully  to  the  com- 
paratively forcible  and  exact  mode  of  using  the  organs,  which  distin- 
guishes public  reading  and  speaking  from  private  communication. 
The  latter  occupies  but  little  space,  and  needs  but  a  slight  effort  of 
attention  or  of  will,  to  effect  it :  the  former  implies  large  space,  and 
correspondent  voluntary  exertion  of  the  organs,  with  the  due  precision 
which  stamps,  at  once,  every  sound  distinctly  on  the  ear,  and  renders 
unnecessary  any  repetition  of  an  imperfectly  understood  word  or 
phrase,  —  a  thing  allowable  in  conversation,  but  impracticable  in 
public  speaking. 

The  functions  of  the  organs  in  articulation,  must  obvir,;sly  be 
determined  by  the  character  of  the  sound  which,  in  any  case>  is  to  be 
executed.  We  shall  find  advantage,  therefore,  in  first  considering 
the  character  of  the  component  elementary  sounds  of  our  language, 
as  a  guide  to  the  mode  of  exerting  the  organs  in  producing  them. 

Dr.  Rush,  in  his  Philosophy  of  the  Voice,  has  adopted  an  arrange- 
ment of  the  elementary  sounds  of  our  language,  which  differs  from 
that  of  grammarians,  and  is  founded  on  a  more  strict  regard  to  the 
vocal  properties  of  each  element,  —  a  classification  which  is  more 
convenient  for  the  purposes  of  elocution,  as  well  as  more  exact  in 
lelation  to  the  facts  of  speech.  Dr.  Rush's  arrangement  we  shall 
follow  in  this  branch  of  our  subject ;  as  it  is  best  adapted  to  the  pur- 
poses of  instruction. 

On  a  very  few  points  of  detail,  however,  we  shall  take  the  liberty 
to  vary  from  Dr.  Rush's  system,  where  precision  and  accuracy  of  in- 
struction seem  to  require  such  variation. 

Dr.  Rush's  mode  of  classifying  the  elementary  sounds  of  our  lan- 
guage, presents,  first,  those  which  he  has  denominated  u2bfUCH 
elements,  as  possessing  the  largest  capacity  for  prolongation  of 
sound,  and  other  modifications  of  tone.     The  following  are  the 


'  TONIC 


I.   Simple  Sounds. 

1.  A, 

2.  A 

3.  A 

4.  E, 

5.  00, 
OO,1 

6.  E, 

7.  E, 

a  j, 


as  in  -4-11. 
as  in  A-rm. . 
as  in  A-n. 
as  in  JE-ve. 
as  in  Oo-ze. 
as  in  L-oo-k. 
as  in  E-rv. 
as  in  .E-nd. 
as  in  7-n. 


ELEMENTS. 

9.   JUi 

10. 

11. 

12. 


O, 


as  in  Ai-r. 
as  in  U"-p. 
as  in  O-r. 
as  in  O-n. 


II.   Compound  Sounds. 


13.  A, 

14.  I, 

15.  O, 

16.  Ou 


as  in  A-\e. 
as  in  7-ce. 
as  in  O-ld. 
as  in  Ou'X 


The  following  elements  of  the  same  class,  are  omitted   by  Or, 
Rush.      But  they  seem  to  be  indispensable   in  teaching,   which 

lA  shorter  quantity,  but  the  sane  in  quality,  wi'.h  oo  in  ooze. 


20  ORTHOPHONY. 

requires  exact  and  close  discriminations,  in  order  to  obtain  accuracy 
in  practice. 

17     Oi9  as  in  Oi-l.  18.    U,  as  in  Z7-se,  sounding 

long  in  the  verb,  short  in  the  noun. 

[The  student's  attention  should  be  directed  to  the  following  obser- 
vations, previous  to  practising  the  preceding  sounds.] 

The  a,  in  such  words  as  ale,  Dr.  Rush  has  very  justly  represented 
as  consisting  of  two  elements  :  —  1.  The  "  radical,"  or  initial  sound 
with  which  the  name  of  the  letter  a  commences  ;  and  2.  The  deli 
cate  "  vanish,"  or  fina*  sound,  with  which,  in  full  pronunciation,  and 
in  singing,  it  closes,  —  bordering  on  e,  as  in  eve,  —  but  barely  per- 
ceptible to  the  ear.  This  element  obviously  diners,  in  this  respect, 
from  the  acute  e  of  the  French  language,  which  begins  and  ends 
with  precisely  the  same  form  of  sound,  and  position  of  the  organs  of 
speech ;  while  the  English  a,  as  in  ale,  requires  a  slight  upward 
movement  of  the  tongue,  to  close  it  with  propriety ;  and  hence  its 
"  vanish,"  approaches  to  the  sound  of  e. 

The  i  of  ice,  in  like  manner,  will,  on  attentive  analysis,  be  found 
to  consist  of  two  simple  elements :  —  1st,  a,  as  in  at ;  2d,  i,  as  in  in. 
Walker,  in  his  system  of  orthoepy,  defines  this  element  as  commenc- 
ing with'  the  a  in  father.  But  such  breadth  of  sound,  is,  in  our  own 
day,  justly  regarded  as  the  mark  of  a  drawling  and  rustic  pronun- 
ciation, while  good  taste  always  shrinks  from  the  too  flat  sound, 
which  this  element  receives  in  the  style  of  dialectic  error  in  Scotland 
<r  Ireland,  or  in  the  style  of  fastidious  and  affected  refinement,  as  if 
"ayee." 

The  o  of  old,  although  not  so  commonly  recognized  as  a  com- 
pound element,  will  be  found,  on  analysis,  to  belong  properly  to  that 
class.  Thus,  if  we  observe  closely  the  pronunciation  of  a  native  of 
continental  Europe,  in  speaking  English,  Ave  shall  find  that  the  letter 
o  in  such  words  as  old,  sounds  a  little  too  broad,  and  does  not  clos® 
properly.  The  foreign  pronunciation  lacks  the  delicate  "  vanish, 
approaching  to  oo,  in  ooze,  although  not  dwelling  on  that  form  of 
sound,  but  only,  as  it  wrere,  approximating  to  it ;  as  the  letter  a,  in 
just  and  full  utterance  for  public  speaking,  and  for  singing,  closes 
with  a  slight  approach  to  e,  in  eve,  but  does  not  dwell  on  that 
element. 

That  this  compound  form  of  the  "  tonic  "  o,  in  old,  is  a  genuine 
tendency  of  the  organs,  in  the  pronunciation  of  our  language,  maybe 
observed  in  the  current  fault  of  the  utterance  which  characterizes  the 
popular  style  of  England,  and  in  which  the  vanish  of  this  element  i» 
protruded  to  such  an  extent  as  to  justify  American  caricaturists  in 
Representing  it  by  the  spelling  of  "  powst  rowd"  for  post  road. 

The  element  ou,  in  our,  is  obviously  a  compound  of  o,  as  in  done, 
—  the  same  with  u,  in  up,  —  and  a  short,  or  "  vanishing  "  quantity 
of  oo  in  ooze.  The  negligent  style  of  popular  error,  makes  tins 
element  commence  with  a,  as  in  arm,  or  a  in  at ;  and  the  local  stvle 
of  rustic  pronunciation  in  New  England,  makes  it  commence  with  e 
in  end. 

Ai}  as  in  the  word  air,  though  not  recognized  by  Dr.  Rush,  nor  by 


"tonic"  elements.  2j 

many  other  arriters  on  elocution,  as  a  separate  element  from  a,  in  aie$ 
is  obviously  a  distinct  sound,  approaching  to  that  of  e  in  end,  but  not 
forming  so  close  a  sound  to  the  ear,  nor  executed  by  so  much  muscu- 
lar pressure  in  the  organs.  The  literal  flat  sound,  however,  of  a  in 
Je,  if  given  in  the  class  of  words  air,  rare,  care,  &c,  constitutes  the 
peculiarity  of  local  usage  in  Ireland,  as  contradistinguished  from  that 
jf  England. 

Popular  usage,  in  England  and  America,  inclines,  no  doubt,  to  the 
opposite  extreme,  and  makes  a,  in  air  too  nearly  like  a  prolonged 
.sound  of  a,  as  in  an.  In  the  southern  regions  of  the  United  States, 
this  sound  is  even  rendered  as  broad  as  that  of  a  in  arm.  But  while 
good  taste  avoids  such  breadth  of  sound,  as  coarse  and  uncouth,  it . 
.jtill  preserves  the  peculiar  form  of  this  element,  as  differing  both  from 
i  in  ale,  and  e  in  end,  and  lying,  as  it  were,  between  them. 

U,  in  up,  seems  to  have  been  merged  by  Dr.  Rush  in  the  element 
,,  in  err,  which  would  imply  that  the  latter  word  is  pronounced 
"  urr."  But  this  is  obviously  the  error  of  negligent  usage,  whether 
M  the  United  States,  or  in  England.  In  the  latter  country,  it  is  the 
characteristic  local  error  of  Wales. 

In  the  usage  of  New  England  and  of  Scotland,  there  is,  no  doubt, 
i  too  prevalent  tendency  to  pronounce  err,  earth,  mercy,  &c,  with  a 
jsound  too  rigidly  close,  like  that  of  e  in  merit ;  thus,  ".Az'r,"  "  airth," 
"  maircy."  But  cultivated  and  correct  pronunciation,  while  it  avoids 
this  preciseness,  draws  a  clear,  though  close  distinction,  between  the 
vowel  sounds  in  urn  and  earn, 

Mr.  Smart,  in  his  Practice  of  Elocution,  describes  the  element  in 
question,  with  perfect  exactness  and  just  discrimination. 

"  Er  and  ir  are  pronounced  by  unpolished  speakers  just  like  ur,  as 
indeed,  in  some  common  words,  such  as  her,  sir,  &c,  they  are  pro- 
nounced, even  by  the  most  cultivated  :  but  in  words  of  less  common 
occurrence,  there  is  a  medium  between  ur  and  air,  which  elegant 
usage  has  established,  as  the  just  utterance  of  e  and  i  joined  to  the 
smooth  r."1 

O,  in  or,  and  o,  in  on,  arc  apparently  considered  by  Dr.  Rush  and 
by  Walker,  as  modifications  of  a  in  all.  Admitting,  however,  the 
identity  of  quality  in  these  elements,  —  their  obvious  difference  in 
quantity,  and  in  the  position  and  pressure  of  the  muscles  by  which, 
as  sounds,  they  are  formed,  together  with  the  precision  and  correct- 
ness of  articulation,  demand  a  separate  place  for  them  in  elementary 
exercises  designed  for  the  purposes  of  culture,  which  always  implies 
a  definite,  exact,  and  distinctive  formation  of  sounds. 

Oi,  in  oil,  though  omitted  in  the  scheme  of  Dr.  Rush,  are  evidently 
entitled  to  a  distinct  place  in  the  classification  of  the  elements  of  our 
language,  on  the  same  ground  on  which  a  separate  designation  is 
assigned  to  ou  in  our. 

This  compound  element,  oi,  is  formed  by  commencing  with  the  o 
»n  on,  and  terminating  with  the  i  in  in.  Popular  and  negligent 
usage,  inclines  to  t*»\,  errors  in  this  diphthong  :  —  1st,  that  cf  com- 
mencing with  o,  in  o^n  instead  of  o,  in  on;  2d,  that  of  terminating 

-  Tne  practka  of  locution.    By  B.  H.  Smart.    London!  1826. 


9. 

G, 

as  in  G-&-g. 

10. 

V, 

as  in  F-al-i;e. 

11. 

z, 

as  in  Z-one. 

12. 

z, 

as  in  A-z-ure. 

13. 

y, 

as  in  Y-e. 

14. 

w, 

as  in  W~oe. 

15. 

Til 

as  in  TIJ-en. 

22  ORTHOPHONY. 

with  a  short  sound  of  a,  as  in  «/e,  instead  of  i,  in  in.     The  appropri* 
ate  sounds  are  as  mentioned  above. 

The  compound  element  u,  as  in  use,  although  obviously  formed 
of  a  short  quantity  of  e,  in  eve,  and  of  oo,  in  ooze,  is  entitled  to  a 
place  in  the  classification  of  the  elements  of  our  language,  not  merely 
as  being  a  sound  represented  by  a  distinct  character,  as  in  the  namo 
of  the  letter  u,  but  as  constituting  a  peculiar  diphthongal  element. 

"  SUBTONIC  "   ELEMENTS. 

These  elements  are  so  denominated  by  Dr.  Rush  M  from  their  infe- 
riority to  the  '  tonics,'  in  all  the  emphatic  and  elegant  purposes  of 
Bpeech,  while  they  admit  of  being  *  intonated,'  or  carried  '  conciete- 
.ty,'  (continuously,)  through  the  intervals  of  pitch." 

1.  L,    as  in  L-ull.1 

2.  M,  as  in  M-ai-m. 

3.  N,   as  in  JV-u-tt. 

4.  R,   as  in  i?-ap. 

5.  iv,   as  in  Fa-r.2 

6.  Ng,  as  in  Si-ng. 

7.  B,   as  in  2?-a-£e. 

8.  D,  as  in  D-i-d. 

Compound  of  8.  and  12. 
16.   J",  as  in  J-oy. 

The  first  six  of  the  "  subtonic "  elements,  7,  m,  n,  r  (hard,) 
r  (soft,)  and  ng,  have  an  unmixed  "  vocality "  throughout:  the 
seventh,  eighth  and  ninth,  b,  d,  g,  have  a  "  vocality,"  terminating  in 
a  sudden  and  explosive  force  of  sound  :  the  remaining  "  subtonics," 
v,  z,  zh,  y,  w,  th,j,  have  an  "  aspiration,"  (whispering  sound  of  the 
breath,)  joined  with  their  vocality. 

The  fourth  of  these  elements,  —  r,  as  in  rap, —  differs  trom  the 
fifth,  —  r,  as  in  far,  in  having  a  harder  and  clearer  sound,  executed 
by  a  forcible  but  brief  vibration  of  the  tip  of  the  tongue,  against  the 
first  projecting  ridge  of  the  interior  gum,  immediately  over  the  upper 
teeth ;  while  the  latter  has  a  soft  murmuring  sound,  caused  by  a 
slight  vibration  of  the  whole  forepart  of  the  tongue,  directed  towards 
the  middle  part  of  the  roof  of  the  mouth. 

The  common  errors  of  careless  usage,  substitute  the  "  soft "  for 
the  "  hard  "  r,  and  omit  the  "  soft"  r,  entirely;  thus  "/«/*,"  for 
far.     Another  class  of  errors,  consists  in  rolling,  or  unduly  prolong 

1  In  arranging  the  "  subtonics,"  words  have,  in  as  many  cases  as  practica 
ble,  been  selected  for  examples,  which  contain  a  repetition  of  the  element 
under  consideration.  The  design  of  this  slight  deviation  from  Dr.  Rush,  is  to 
present  each  element  as  impressively  as  possible  to  the  ear. 

2  Added  to  Dr.  Rush's  arrangement,  for  the  reasons  mentioned  in  subsequent 
jbservations  on  this  element. — See  last  paragraph  but  one  of  this  page. 


"atonic"  elements.  23 

tog,  the  sound  of  the  "  hard  "  r,  and  substituting  the  hard,  for  the 
"  soft "  sound. 

The  greater  prolongation  of  sound,  which  takes  place  in  the  ave- 
rage of  singing  notes,  or  in  impassioned  recitation,  renders  a  slight 
comparative  "  roll  "  of  the  "  hard  "  r  unavoidable,  at  the  beginning 
of  a  word.  But  it  is  a  gross  error  of  taste,  to  prolong  this  sound,  in 
the  style  of  foreign  accent,  as  in  French  and  Italian  pronunciation,  or 
to  substitute  the  rough  sound  of  the  "  hard  "  r,  for  the  delicate  mur- 
mur of  the  "  soft"  r. 

The  "  subtonic  "  elements  numbered  13  and  14, — y,  as  in  ye  srd 
iv  as  in  woe, —  are,  it  may  be  remarked,  not  properly  separate  ele- 
ments from  e,  in  eve,  and  oo  in  ooze,  but  only  extremely  short  "  quan- 
tities "  of  the  same  "  qualities  "  of  vowel  sound  which  are  exhibited 
in  these  words.  They  require,  however,  a  closer  position  of  the 
organs  for  their  execution  ;  and,  hence,  for  the  purposes  of  practical 
instruction ,  they  may  be  advantageously  studied  as  distinct  elemen- 
tary sourds. 

"  ATONIC  "   ELEMENTS. 

These  elements  are  thus  designated  by  Dr.  Rush,  from  their  want 
of"  tonic  "  property,  —  "  their  limited  power  of  variation  in  pitch." 
"  They  are  all,  properly,  '  aspirations,'  and  have  not  the  sort  of 
sound  called  4  vocality.'  They  are  produced  by  a  current  of  the 
whispering  breath,  through  certain  positions  of  parts,  in  the  internal 
and  external  mouth." 


1.  P,  as  in  P-i-^e. 

2.  T,  as  in  T-en-£. 

3.  C,  "  hard,"  and  K,  as  in 

C-a-Z:e. 

4.  F,  as  in  F-i-fe. 


5.  C,  "  soft,"  and  S,  as  in 

C-ea-.se. 

6.  H,  as  in  H-e. 

7.  Th,  as  in  TA-in. 

8.  Sk,  as  in  Ya-sk. 


Compound  of  2.  and  8. 

9.    Ch,  as  in  Ch-ux-ck.1 

To  some  persons  the  foregoing  analysis  may  seem  unnecessarily 
minute.  But  exactness  in  articulation  cannot  exist  without  close  dis- 
ci imination  and  careful  analysis.  Many  of  the  worst  errors  in  the 
enunciation  of  words,  are  owing  to  slight  oversights  about  the  truo 
sound  of  a  letter.  Without  strict  attention  to  details,  there  can,  in 
this  particular,  be  no  security  for  accurate  execution.  The  very 
common  error,  for  example,  of  reading  or  singing  the  word  faith  as 
if  it  were  written  ufai-ccth,"  is  merely  an  act  of  negligence  regard- 
ing the  "  vanish,"  or  final  portion  of  sound,  in  the  diphthong,  ai9 

1  Uli,  which  Dr.  Rush  has  recognized  as  a  distinct  element,  are  but  appa- 
rently such.  They  difTer,  in  no  respect,  from  the  separate  elements,  w  ana  h 
—  only  that,  in  the  modern  orthography  of  words,  they  are  inverted,  as  to 
their  order.  The  ancient  orthography  of  the  language,  placed  vliem  as  they 
ttaad  in  orthoepy,  —  Hw  ;  thus  Hweai,  Hwen,  &c. 


24  ORTHOPHONY. 

which,  —  although  it  is  unavoidably  analyzed  by  the  voice,  in  the 
utterance  of  singing,  to  a  greater  extent  than  in  that  of  reading,  — 
should  never  be  dissected,  in  the  unnatural  style  which  has  just  been 
mentioned. 

We  have  omitted,  —  as  will  have  been  observed,  —  that  part  of 
Dr.  Rush's  analysis  which  presents  the  "  tonic  "  elements  a,  as  in 
awe,  (identical  with  a,  in  all,)  a  in  arm,  and  a  in  an,  as  diphthong?' 
Correct  reading  and  appropriate  singing,  alike  forbid  the  "  vanish  ' 
of  these  sounds  to  be  rendered  apparent  to  the  ear.  It  is  one  of  the 
acknowledged  improprieties  of  enunciation,  which  permits  the  wt  txl 
awe  to  terminate  in  any  form  approaching,  —  even  in  the  most  distant 
degree,  —  the  negligent  style  of"  awer." 

Let  it  be  admitted  that  the  "  vanish,"  or  final  portion  of  the  s<und, 
in  such  elements,  is  but  an  unavoidable,  accidental  "  vocule,"  insepa- 
rably attached  to  the  "  radical  "  or  initial  sound,  when  we  utter  it  by 
itself;  and  it  becomes,  from  its  very  nature,  a  thing  which  judgment 
and  taste  would  alike  require  to  be  sunk  out  of  notice  to  the  ear,  in 
the  enunciation  of  syllables,  or  words. 


The  preceding  arrangement  of  the  elementary  sounds  of  the  lan- 
guage, as  presented  by  Dr.  Rush,  exhibits  them  in  a  manner  very 
clear  and  distinct,  as  results  of  organic  action,  —  or  as  sounds  formed 
by  the  voice.  But  to  ascertain  their  character,  with  perfect  accuracy 
of  knowledge,  for  the  purposes  of  vocal  practice  and  culture,  it 
becomes  important  to  examine  them  closely,  in  connection  wTith  the 
exact  position  and  movement  of  the  organs,  during  the  process  of 
execution. 

Classified,  in  this  light,  the  audible  elements  of  our  language  may 
be  conveniently  designated  by  the  terms  in  use  previous  to  Dr. 
Rush's  arrangement.     We  will  commence  with  the 

VOWELS   AND    DIPHTHONGS. 

These  elements,  generally,  are  formed  by  the  act  of  "  expiration" 
modified  into  vocality  by  the  larynx,  and  the  adjoining  organs,  aided 
by  the  tongue,  the  palate,  the  lips,  &c,  which  give  definite  and  dis- 
tinctive character  to  the  sounds  of  the  voice,  as  rudiments  of  speech. 

The  enunciation  of  vowels  and  diphthongs,  demands  attention  ~-rin- 
cipall  f  to  the  free  and  expansive  opening  of  the  mouth,  together  A'ith 
a  Btrbt  attention  to  the  action  of  the  particular  organ,  or  organs,  by 
whicl  each  element  receives  its  peculiar  character  as  a  definite  sound. 
Much  attention,  in  the  execution  of  these  sounds,  is  required  to  the 
action  of  the  organs  at  the  moment  of  commencing  and  at  that  of 
closing  each  sound.  The  sound  of  the  voice  in  the  utterance  of  the 
first  a'vlible  portion  of  articulate  sounds,  Dr.  Rush  has  termed  the 
"  radical,"  (initial,)  movement :  the  sound  uttered  in  the  concluding 
portion  cf  an  articulation  he  has  termed  the  "vanishing,"  (final,) 
movement.  Each  of  these  points  of  articulate  sound,  demands  the 
closest  discrimination,  as  regards  both  the  voice,  and  the  motion  ui 
action  of  the  organs.     If  the  latter  is  not  exact,  the  former  will  bf 


VOCAL   AND   DIPHTHONGAL   ELEMENTS. 


25 


more  or  less  incorrect  or  vague,  confused,  and  indefinite.  The 
"  radical "  movement  always  demands  clearness,  force,  precision,  and 
spirit,  in  the  execution:  the  " vanish"  requires  nice  and  delicate 
finish,  perfect  exactness,  but  no  undue  marking  or  prominence.  It 
should  resemble,  in  its  effect  on  the  ear,  that  of  a  light  but  definite 
touch  on  the  piano. 

"  In  just  articulation,  the  words  are  not  to  be  hurried  over,  nor 
precipitated,  syllable  over  syllable  ;  nor,  as  it  were,  melted  togethei 
into  a  mass  of  confusion :  they  should  be  neither  abridged,  nor  pro- 
.onged,  nor  swallowed,  nor  forced,  and,  • —  if  I  may  so  express  my- 
self,—  shot  from  the  mouth :  they  should  not  be  trailed  nor  drawled, 
nor  let  slip  out  carelessly,  so  as  to  drop  unfinished.  They  are  to  be 
delivered  out  from  the  lips,  as  beautiful  coins  newly  issued  from  the 
mint,  deeply  and  accurately  impressed,  perfectly  finished,  neatly 
struck  by  the  proper  organs,  distinct,  sharp,  in  due  succession >  and 
of  due  weight."1 

The  precision  and  force  of  the  "  radical "  portion  of  a  sound,  are 
gained  by  deep  inspiration,  and  a  preliminary  rallying,  or  gathering 
of  impulse  on  the  organs,  —  somewhat  as  we  brace  the  muscles  before 
the  exercise  of  jumping  or  diving,  —  and  then  causing  an  instantane- 
ous explosion  of  the  accumulated  and  compacted  breath,  in  the  form 
of  clear,  cutting  sound.  In  practising  the  following  elements,  this 
explosive,  radical  movement  should  be  carried  up  from  the  slightest 
style  of  a  suppressed  cough  to  the  most  violent  exertion,  or  the 
loudest  style  of  coughing.  The  preliminary  practice  of  a  repeated 
actual  cough  is  the  best  preparatory  discipline  for  the  species  of 
organic  action  which  constitutes  the  "  radical  "  portion  of  any  articu 
late  sound. 

VOCAL   AND   DIPHTHONGAL   ELEMENTS, 

corresponding  to  the  "  tonics  "  of  Dr.  Rush,  and  executed  principally 
by  the  action  of  the  larynx,  with  the  mouth  more  or  less  open. 


I.     Simple  Sounds. 

1. 

A-\l; 

2. 

A-im; 

3. 

A.~tl  ; 

4. 

£-ve; 

5. 

OO-ze ; 

«< 

L-oo-k ; 

6 

E-ir; 

7. 

£-nd; 

8. 

I-n; 

9. 

Ai-r; 

10. 

ET-pj 

11. 

12. 


O-r; 
O-n. 


II.     Compound  Sounds. 

13.  A-\e ;    (original  element 

and  4.) 

14.  I-ce  ;  (3.  and  4.) 

15.  O-ld;   (original  element 

and  5.) 

16.  Ou-r;  (10.  and  5.) 

17.  Oi-\;  (12.  and  8.) 

18.  U"-se  ;  (4.  and  5.) 


1  Austin's  Chironomia,  pp.  38,  39. 


26  ORTHOPHONY. 


CONSONANTAL   ELEMENTS, 

corresponding  to  the  "  subtonic  "  and  "  atonic  "  sounds  in  the  c  assi 
fication  of  Dr.  Rash. 

I.     Labial  Sounds. 

These  are,  —  in  consonance  with  their  designation  t  ^-  formed  by 
iho  action  of  the  lips.     They  may  be  enumerated  as  fallows  : 


1.  B-dL-be ; 

2.  P-i-pe; 

3.  M-ai-m; 


4.  W-oe ; 

5.  'V-al-ve; 

6.  F-i-fe. 


The  "  subtonic,"  b,  is  formed  by  a  firm  compression  of  the  lips, 
which  arrests  the  escape  of  the  breath,  and  causes,  by  this  occlusion 
of  the  mouth,  a  murmuring  resonance  of  the  voice  in  the  cavity  of  the 
chest,  and  in  the  interior  of  the  head  and  mouth.  Th3  pressure  of 
the  lips,  in  the  formation  of  this  sound,  is  increased  to  a  maximum, 
or  chief  point,  at  which  the  lips  are  suddenly  opened,  and  a  slight 
explosive  effect  produced,  which  consummates  the  character  of  the 
sound,  and  causes  a  "  vocule,"  or  slight  and  obscure  vowe*  lound, 
resembling  e,  in  err,  to  follow  the  effort  of  the  organs. 

The  "  atonic,"  p,  is  produced  by  an  intense  compression  of  the 
lips,  which  prevents  the  possibility  of  any  audible  sound,  till  the  forci- 
ble "  aspirated,"  or  whispering,  explosion,  following  the  maximum 
of  the  pressure,  is  heard,  accompanied  by  the  same  "  vocule  "  which 
attends  the  sound  of  b,  but,  in  p,  is  only  an  aspiration,  or  wThisper. 

The  precision  of  those  two  elements  jf  speech,  is  dependent, 
wholly,  on  the  full  force  of  the  labial  compression,  and  the  intensity 
of  the  following  explosion,  by  which  they  <*re  produced.  In  impas- 
sioned utterance,  the  force  of  the  organic  action,  in  the  articulation 
of  these  sounds,  must  be  carried  to  the  utmost  degree,  and  executed 
with  instantaneous  precision,  and  the  most  vivid  effect. 

The  "  subtonic,"  m,  is  articulated  by  a  very  gentle  compression 
of  the  lips,  attended  by  a  murmur  in  the  head  and  chest,  resembling 
somewhat^  that  wh.;ch  forms  tiie  character  of  the  "  subtonic  "  b,  but 
differing  from  it  in  the  sound  being1  SLecompanied  by  a  free,  steady, 
equable  "expiration"  through  the  nostrils.  In  extremely  empas- 
sioned  utterance,  this  gentle  element  is  made  to  assume  the  character 
of  intensity,  by  increasing  the  force  of  the  labial  compression  to  a 
maximum,  and  exploding  the  sound  in  a  manner  similar  to  that  of  f. 
This  element  is  not  followed,  as  b  or  p,  by  a  "  vocule  ;"  its  own 
distinctive  character  of  sound,  throughout,  being  very  nearly  of  the 
"  tonic,"  or  purely  vocal,  nature. 

The  "  subtonic  "  element,  w,  as  in  woe,  is  formed  by  rounding  the 
Jps,  as  in  articulating  00,  in  0020,  but  slightly  compressing  them,  and 
holding  them  closer  to  the  teeth :  a  brief  vocal  murmur  is  formed  by 

1  This  and  the  following  element,  being  formed  by  means  both  of  the  lower 
up  and  the  upper  teeth,  are,  on  this  account,  sometimes  called  "  labia 
dentals  " 


ARTICULATION.  27 

ine  breath,  —  as  modified  by  the  larynx,  —  escaping  through  this  par- 
tial opening  of  the  lips,  and,  at  the  same  time,  in»a  very  slight  degree, 
through  the  nostrils.  This  sound  has  not,  from  its  nature,  much 
independent  energy  ;  neither  does  it  admit  of  prolongation.  But  it 
becomes  forcible  and  impassioned,  to  some  extent,  by  increasing  the 
pressure  of  the  lips,  and  exploding  the  sound,  somewhat  in  the  man- 
ner of  m  and  b,  when  rendered  intense. 

The  "  subtonic,"  v,  is  articulated  by  the  sound  of  the  voice  being 
modified  by  bringing  the  upper  fore-teeth  close  upon  the  ridge  of  the 
under  lip,  and,  at  the  same  time,  slightly  raising  the  upper  lip,  so  as 
to  prevent  its  interfering  with  the  contact  of  the  upper  fore-teeth  and 
the  lower  lip.  A  murmuring  resonance,  bordering  on  aspiration,  is 
thus  produced  in  the  head  and  chest,  by  the  partial  escape  of  breath 
between  the  teeth  and  the  lip.     This  element,  —  as  mentioned  before, 

—  has,  on  this  account,  been  sometimes  denominated  "  labio-dental," 

—  from  its  dependence  on  both  these  organs. 

The  "  atonic/'  f,  is  executed  as  v,  with  the  difference,  only, 
arising  from  a  closer  compression  of  the  teeth  and  the  lip,  a  more 
forcible  expulsion  of  the  breath,  and  an  aspirated  or  whispering  char- 
acter, in  the  sound.  This  element,  also,  is  sometimes  denominated 
"  labio-dental,"  being  formed  as  the  preceding. 

II.    "Dental"  Sounds. 

These  are  all  modified,  —  as  their  name  imports,  —  by  the  aid  of 
the  teeth.  But,  like  many  other  articulate  sounds,  they  are  founded 
on,  and  imply,  an  action  of  the  tongue  ;  although  this  circumstance  is 
not  indicated  in  the  designation  of  such  elements. 


I.    D-i-d; 

5.   A-z-ure ; 

2.    T-en-t; 

6.   Fu-sk; 

3.    TA-in; 

7.    C-ea-se ; 

4.    TH-ine; 

8.    Z-one ; 

Compound  of  1. 

and  5. 

Compound  of  2,  and  6 

9.   J-oy ; 

10.   Ch-m-ch. 

The  "  subtonic,"  d  is  articulated  oy  a  partial  vocal  murmur,  modi- 
fied by  pressing  the  tip  of  the  tongue,  with  great  energy,  against  the 
interior  ridge  of  gum,  immediately  over  the  upper  fore-teeth.  This 
pressure  is  but  an  instantaneous  effort ;  yet  it  evidently  comes  to  a 
maximum,  just  before  the  explosion  from  which  it  takes  its  peculiar 
character,  is  executed.  This  explosion  necessarily  produces  the 
"  vocule,"  c,  as  in  err 

The  "  atonic  "  t,  is  executed  in  a  similar  manner,  excepting  the 
absence  of  vocal  murmur,  an  intense  percussive  pressure  of  the 
tongue,  and  an  aspirated  explosion,  which  takes  place  in  the  act  c.f 
withdrawing  the  tongue  from  the  gum. 

The  "  atonic,"  th,  as  in  thin,  is  executed  by  a  forcible  "  aspira- 
tion," modified  by  a  slight  horizontal  parting  of  the  lips,  and  a  foici- 
ble  pressure  of  the  end  of  the  tongue  against  the  upper  fore- teeth. 


28  ORTHOPHONY, 

The  "  si.btonic,"  TH,  as  in  thine,  is  executed  by  a  similar  position 
of  the  organs,  but  a  vocalized  emission  of  the  breath,  forming  a  gentle 
resonance. 

The  "  subtonic,"  z,  as  in  azure,  is  formed  by  a  partially  vocal 
sound,  modified  by  gently  raising  the  whole  fore-part  of  the  tongue 
towards  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  and  allowing  the  breath  to  escape, 
between  it  and  the  teeth. 

The  "  atonic,"  sh,  is  formed  in  a  similar  manner,  as  regards  the 
position  of  the  organs,  but  with  more  pressure,  and  by  means  of 
*  aspiration,"  not  "  vocality,"  in  the  emission  of  the  breath. 

The  "  atonic  "  sound  of  s,  or  the  soft  sound  of  c,  as  in  the  word 
cease,  is  articulated  by  pressing,  with  intense  force,  the  tip  of  the 
tongue  against  the  interior  gum,  immediately  over  the  fore-teeth. 
Through  the  extremely  small  aperture  thus  formed,  aided  by  the 
horizontal  parting  of  the  lips,  and  the  cutting  effect  of  the  edges  of 
the  teeth,  the  sibilation,  or  hiss,  is  formed,  which  gives  the  peculiar 
character  of  this  element. 

The  "  subtonic,"  z,  as  in  zone,  is  formed  by  nearly  the  same  posi- 
tion of  the  organs,  as  the  preceding  element,  but  with  very  slight 
pressure,  and  by  means  of"  vocalized,"  not  "  aspirated,"  sound. 

III.    "Palatic"  Sounds. 

These  are  so  termed  from  their  depending  on  the  palate,  for  their 
distinctive  character.     They  are  enumerated  as  follows  : 

1.   C,  "hard."  and  K,  as  in  C-a-£e  ;  2.  G,  as  in  G-a-g ;  3.  Y, 
as  in  Y-e. 

The  "  atonic,"  c,  "  hard,"  or  k,  is  executed  by  opening  the  mouth 
retracting,  and  curving  the  tongue  with  great  force,  and  exploding 
an  aspiration  against  the  palate. 

The  "  subtonic,"  g,  as  in  gag,  is  formed  by  similar  movements 
and  positions  of  the  organs,  but  less  forcible,  and  by  means  of  "  vo- 
cality," instead  of"  aspiration." 

The  "  subtonic,"  y,  is  articulated  by  a  similar  process,  still  less 
forcible,  and  by  means  of"  expulsion,"  not  "  explosion,"  as  regards 
the  character  of  the  function  and  the  sound. 

IV.    "Aspirated"  Element, 

H,  as  in  H-e. 

This  sound  is  formed  by  a  forcible  emission  of  the  breath,  in  tho 
style  of  a  whisper,  and  a  moderate  opening  of  al)  the  organs  f>f 
speech. 

V.   "Nasal"  Sounds. 

1.  JV,  as  in  N-\i-n;  2.  Ng,  as  in  Si-rag-;  or  N,  as  in  J-ra-k. 

The  "  subtonic,' '  n,  is  articulated  by  a  vocalized  breathing  through 
the  nose ;  the  lips  parted  freely ;  and  the  end  of  the  tongue  pressing 
vigorously  against  the  interior  ridge  of  gum,  immediately  above  the 
uppei  fore-teeth. 


ARTICULATION.  29 

The  '  subtonic,"  ng,  is  formed  by  a  vocalized  breathing  directed 
against  the  nasal  passage  and  the  back  part  of  the  veil  of  the  palate, 
and  by  a  retracted  and  elevated  position  of  the  lower  part  of  the 
tongue,  which  partly  shuts  the  nasal  passage,  and  causes  it,  at  the 
same  moment,  to  become  resonant. 

VI.   "Lingual"  Sounds, 

These  elements  are  so  called  from  their  special  dependence  on  the 
action  of  the  tongue.     They  are  the  following : 

1.  X,  as  in  L-u-ll;  2.  jK,  as  in  E-ap ;  3.  R,  as  in  Fa-r. 

These  are  all  "  subtonic  "  elements. 

The  first  is  formed  by  a  moderate  opening  of  the  mouth,  and  the 
utterance  of  a  vocalized  sound,  modified  by  raising  the  tongue 
towards  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  and  pressing  the  end  of  it,  very 
gently,  against  the  interior  ridge  of  gum,  immediately  above  the 
upper  fore-teeth. 

The  "  subtonic,"  r,  as  in  rap,  is  an  element  formed  by  vivid  and 
energetic  vibration  of  the  tip  of  the  tongue,  against  the  interior  ridge 
of  gum,  immediately  over  the  upper  fore-teeth,  forming  a  partially 
vocalized  sound,  clear  and  forcible,  but  very  brief.  It  should  never 
extend  to  a  prolonged  trill,  or  roll.  This  element  is  sometimes 
designated  as  "  initial"  r,  from  its  occurring  at  or  near  the  begin- 
ning of  words  and  syllables ;  and  sometimes  "  hard,"  or  "  rough," 
r,  from  its  comparative  force,  as  contrasted  with  r  at  the  end  of  a 
word,  which  is  always  soft  in  sound.  This  element  follows  but 
never  precedes  a  consonant ;  thus,  Pray,  brass,  crape,  green,  dread, 
tread,  scream,  spread,  &c. 

The  "  subtonic,"  r,  as  irvfar,  is  a  softer  sound,  of  longer  duration, 
modified  by  a  slight  and  gentle  vibration  of  the  whole  fore-part  of  the 
tongue,  retracted,  and  rising  towards  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  but  not 
actually  touching  it.  The  just  observance  of  the  true  character  of 
this  and  the  preceding  element,  is,  as  was  mentioned  before,  a  point 
of  great  moment  in  enunciation,  and  decides  its  style,  as  regards 
taste  and  culture.  The  designation  of  "  soft,"  or  "  smooth,"  r,  is 
sometimes  given  to  the  "  final "  r;  as  it  is  a  more  delicate  and  liquid 
sound,  than  the  "  hard,"  or  "initial,"  r.  This  element  occurs  at 
the  end  of  words,  and  before,  but  never  after,  a  consonant ;  thus, 
War,  star,  fair,  ire,  ear,  oar,  farm,  barn,  card,  harp,  part  merc$ 
servant,  person,  &c. 

Note.  —  It  is  one  of  the  great  inconveniences  of  our  language,  that 
we  have  so  few  letters  or  characters,  by  which  to  designate  its 
sounds ;  and  it  is  not  less  a  defect  in  it,  that  we  have  the  same  ele- 
ment sometimes  represented  by  a  great  variety  of  letters,  and  combi- 
nations of  letters.  Thus,  the  element  a,  in  ale,  is  heard  also  in  aid, 
lay,  weigh,  survey,  &c. 

A,  in  arm,  is  heard,  also,  in  aunt. 

A,  in  all,  is  heard,  in  awe,  laud,  &c. 

A,  in  what  was,  wash,  &c,  is  used  to  represent  the  same  sound 
with  o,  as  in  on*  or  not. 

A,  as  in  rare,  is  heard,  also,  in  air,  prayer ,  &o. 
3* 


30  ORTHOPHONY. 

E,  as  in  eve,  occurs,  also,  in  the  sound  of  ee  in  eel;  ea,  in  eai;  iet 
in  field;  ei,  in  seize. 

E,  in  end,  occurs  in  the  form  of  en,  in  head. 

E,  in  err*  is  the  same  sound  which  occurs  in  heard,  and  infirm. 
Y,  except  its  peculiar  sound  in  ye,  is  but  a  repetition  of  i,  long  oi 

short;  thus  rhyme,  hymn,  Sic. 

O,  in  old,  is  repeated  in  oak,  course,  own,  Sic. 

Oo,  in  ooze,  and  oo,  in  foot,  recur  in  the  sounds  of  o,  in  move;  u 
in  /rue;  o,  in  wo/f ;  u,  in  pw#;  wz,  in  fruit,  &c. 

The  diphthongal  sound  oi,  as  in  oe7,  is  heard,  always,  in  oy.  The 
sound  of  u,  in  wse,  occurs  also  in  the  form  of  iew  in  view;  eau,  in 
beauty. 

The  diphthong  om,  in  our,  is  repeated  in  the  sound  of  ow  in  down 
Sic. 

F,  as  a  sound,  recurs  in  the  form  of  ph  m&gh;  as  in  phrase, 
laugh,  Sic. 

J,  and  g  "  soft,"  are,  on  the  other  hand,  but  combinations  of  the 
sounds  of  d,  and  of  z,  as  in  azure. 

Ch,  in  church,  are  but  repetitions  of  the  sound  of  t  and  sh. 

The  sound  of  sh  is  found  also  in  the  words,  nation,  gracious, 
ocean,  Sic. 

C,  "  soft,"  is  identical  with  s. 

S,  is,  in  multitudes  of  instances,  but  a  repetition  of  z,  as,  for  exam- 
ple, in  houses,  diseases,  Sic. 

The  sound  of  k  is  repeated  in  the  form  of  c,  "  hard ;"  ch,  as  in 
chorus ;  and  q,  as  in  queen. 

N,  in  ink,  is  identical  with  ng. 

X,  in  either  form,  is  but  a  repetition,  in  sound,  of  ks  or  gz;  thus, 
ox,  example,  Sic. 

It  is  unnecessary,  however,  to  enlarge  on  these  inconsistencies  in 
the  forms  of  our  language.  It  is  sufficient,  perhaps,  for  our  present 
purpose,  to  suggest  the  fact,  that  the  orthography  of  words  may 
sometimes  afford  no  guidance  to  orthoepy,  but,  rather,  may  appar- 
ently mislead.  The  ear  should,  in  all  cases,  be  trained  to  the 
utmost  exactness  and  precision,  in  detecting  and  seizing  the  true 
element  of  sound,  independently  of  the  form  or  combination  of  let- 
ters, by  which  it  may  be  represented. 


t3  be  practised  in  the  same  style  as  the  exercises  on  syllables,  —  each 
component  dement  kept  perfectly  clear  and  distinct. 

I.    Tonic  Elements.  —  Simple  Sounds. 

One  error,  often  made  in  the  following  class  of  words,  is  to  pro- 
tour  ce  them  nearly  as  if  written  oall,  Sic.  Sometimes,  we  hear  the 
coarse  error  of  dividing  the  sound  of  a,  in  such  words,  into  two  parts 
thus  O'ull,  fo-iill,  Sic.  To  a  cultivated  ear,  this  sound  is  peculiarly 
disr/ easing,  as  associated  with  low  and  slovenly  habit. 


ENUNCIATION    OF    WORDS.  31 

1.   A,  as  in  A-W. 

All  War  Law  Awful  Water 

2.    A,  as  in  ^i-rm. 

The  two  cuirent  errors  in  this  class  of  sounds,  are,  1st,  —  as  in  the 
local  usage  of  New  England,  —  flattening  it  down  to  a  in  an; —  2d, 
as  in  the  custom  of  the  Middle  States,  making  it  as  broad  as  a  in  ell. 
The  former  style  causes  the  pronunciation  of  "farm,"  "part," 
"  father ;"  the  latter,  that  of  "  faiorm,"  "  paiort,"  "  farther." 

Harm  Bar  Mart  Balm  Daunt 

3.  A,  as  in  A-n. 

Common  errors  :  —  1,  a  flattened  down  to  e,  in  end,  nearly  ;  thus, 
"  Dence,"  "  pess," — the  local  usage  of  the  Middle  States  ;  —  2d>  a 
made  as  broad  as  a,  in  arm;  thus,  "  Dance,"  (as  if  darnee,)  '*  pass," 
—  the  customary  fault  of  New  England. 


Add 

Band 

Mass 

Last 

Slant 

Dance 

had 

hand 

pass 

mast 

chant 

lance 

mad 

land 

/  grass 
4.  E, 

past 
as  in  E-ve. 

grant 

glance 

There  is  seldom  any  error  made  in  the  enunciation  of  such  words 
as  the  following,  except  the  slight  one  arising  from  not  distinguishing 
between  the  longer  sound  of  ee  before  a  "  subtonic,"  as  in  feel,  and 
the  shorter,  before  an  "  atonic,"  as  in  feet. 

The  explosive  force  of  the  organic  action,  in  executing  an 
"  atonic,"  compresses  the  preceding  vowel :  the  gentle  and  gradual 
sliding  of  the  ee  into  a  "  subtonic,"  allows  it  a  longer  duration. 

Theme         Feel         Heed  Week         Feet  Deep 

5.  00,  as  in  Oo-ze ;   00,  us  in  L-oo-k. 

The  sound  of  this  element,  needs  attention  to  the  same  distinction 
as  in  case  of  the  ee.  Before  a  "  tonic  "  element,  it  is  prolonged, — 
before  an  "  atonic,"  it  is  shortened.  The  difference  is  exemplified, 
fcr  the  former,  in  tool,  —  for  the  latter,  in  took. 

Cool  Boom         Moon    |     Hook         Hoop         Boot 

Exceptions.     Good,  wood,  stood, 
which  have  the  oo  short,  though  before  a  "  subtonic." 

6.    E,  as  in  .E-rr. 

The  just,  not  overdone,  distinction  between  urn  and  earn,  is  the 
object  to  be  kept  in  view,  in  practising  on  the  following  words.  This 
class  of  sounds  is  so  liable  to  mispronunciation,  that  it  needs  close 
and  repeated  attention.  —  See  remarks  on  the  "  tonic  "  element,  e  iu 
err,  —  in  the  discussion  of  elementary  sounds. 


32 

ORTHOPHONY. 

Err        Serve 

1  Earth       ^irm 

Mercy 

Merciful 

erst        verse 
hert        stern 

earl             gird 
pearl           girl 

7.   E,  as  in  .E-nd, 

person 
servant 

terminate 
perfectly 

The  common  error  in  the  following  class  of  words,  is  that  of  allow 
ing  the  vowel  to  approach  the  sound  of  a  in  ale;  thus,  "  tailV  fox 
till.     Other  errors  are  such  as  "  stiddy,"  foi  steady  •  "  may  sure" 
for  measure. 

Elk          Hence      Let             Bell            Den           Bed 

Ready      steady 

measure      pleasure 

general 

genuine 

8.    I,  as  in  J-n. 

The  common  error  of  careless  articulation,  in  this  element,  makes 
it  approach  the  a  of  ale;  thus,  "  sainn,"  for  sin.  An  opposite  error, 
in  foreign  style,  or  in  bad  taste,  gives  "  seenn"  for  sin;  "  ceetee"  for 
city,  &c. 

Din  Dim  Bid  111  Lip  Bit 

9.  A,  as  in  Ai-r. 

Sometimes  carelessly  enunciated  as  a  in  an,  prolonged ;  thus, 
"  aer,"  for  air;  —  sometimes  too  fastidiously  flattened,  and  reduced 
to  a  in  ale;  thus,  "  acr  "  for  air.     The  true  sound  lies  between. 

Bare        Fare  Hair  Stare         Barely        Aware 

10.  U,  as  in  U"-p. 

The  error  in  enunciating  this  element,  is  that  of  forming  the  sound 
in  a  coarse,  guttural  style,  which  makes  it  approach  the  sound  of  o 
in  on.    This  fault  is  prevalent  in  the  usage  of  the  Middle  States. 

Up  Bud  Gum  Dun  But  Done 

11.  O,  as  in  O-r. 

Three  errors  are  extensively  prevalent  in  the  mode  of  enunciating 
this  element :  —  1st,  a  local  error  of  New  England,  which  gives  a 
double  sound  for  a  single  one,  —  commencing  with  o  in  old,  and  end- 
ing with  u  in  up,  or  a  in  an,  thus  "  ndiir,"  or  %t  ribiir"  for  nor  ,  2d, 
a  local  error  of  the  Middle  States,  which  makes  the  sound  too  broad, 
and  resembling  the  a  in  arm;  thus,  "  nar,"  for  nor;  3d,  a  lo.ig  and 
drawling  sound,  which  has  a  coarse  and  slovenly  character;  thua 
caiord,  for  cord. 

Orb2  Born  Cork  Sort  Form 

12.  O,  as  in  O-n. 

A  prevalent  local  error  in  Massachusetts,  in  the  following  class  of 

1  The  same  element  with  e  in  err,  though  difFerertly  spelled. 
*  The  r  of  these  words  is  soft,  but  never  silent%  as  in  the  style  of  fault} 
usage. 


ENUNCIATION   OF   WORDS,  33 

Bounds,  exists  in  the  words,  loss,  lost,  soft,  &c,  which  are  pro- 
nounced nearly  with  o,  as  in  old;  thus  "  loass,"  "  loast,"  (i  soaft," 
&c,  and  sometimes  with  a  double,  instead  of  a  single  sound;  thus 
"  lodst"  &c.,  for  lost.  The  local  error  of  usage,  in  the  state  of 
Connecticut,  verges  to  the  opposite  extreme,  in  such  words,  and 
gives,  for  o,  a  sound  too  nearly  like  that  of  a  in  an;  thus  "  lass," 
&c,  for  loss.  f 


On 

Mob 

Bog            Rod 

Lop 

Loss 

odd 

rob 

dog              god1 
13.     A,  as  in  A-\e. 

sop 

toss 

The  common  error  in  the  enunciation  of  this  element,  is  that  of 
making  its  "  vanish' '  too  conspicuous;  thus  "  aeel"  for  ale.  An 
opposite  error  is  not  uncommon,  —  that  of  omitting  the  delicate 
"vanishing"  sound  entirely,  which  makes  the  style  of  enunciation 
coarse  and  negligent. 

Ace  Day  Hail  Lade  Make  Came 

14.     I,  as  in  I-ce. 

The  two  errors  to  be  avoided  in  enunciating  this  element,  are,  1st, 
that  of  commencing  with  too  broad  a  sound ;  thus,  "  aece,"  for  ice 
(dece;)  2d,  that  of  commencing  it  with  too  flat  a  sound;  thus, 
"  decc,"  for  ice.  —  See  remarks  on  "  tonic  "  elements. 


Dice 

Bide 

Life 

Lime 

Fight 

Dive 

rice 

ride 

rife 

time 

light 

hive 

vice 

side 

wife 
15.     0, 

prime 
as  in  O-ld. 

might 

rive 

A  prevalent  error  in  the  local  usage  of  New  England,  makes  thia 
o  too  short ;  thus,  "  horn,"  for  home.  A  common  error  of  the  Mid- 
dle States  makes  the  sound  too  broad ;  thus  "farce  "  fox  force. 


Oh 

Go 

Bold 

Home 

Lone 

Hope 

lo 

wo 

cold 

loam 

bone 

mope 

so 

foe 

hold 

foam 

stone 

grope 

both 

ford 

fort 

course 

gore 

boat 

oath 

sword 

port 

force 

more 

coat 

sloth 

forge 

sport 
16. 

Ou, 

source 
as  in  Ou-r. 

pour 

dote 

The 

prevailing 

errors  on 

this  element,  are 

"  fat" 

"  dur"  and 

"cur"  for  our,  (o  sounding  as  in  done.)     The  first  two  of  these 
Commonly  mispronounced  " gawd*'  ''goad"  "goud?  or  "gad.''' 


34  ORTHOPHONY. 

errors  are  current  in  the  pronunciation  of  the  Southern  and  Middle 
States  ;  the  last,  in  that  oi  New  England. 


Out 

How 

Loud 

Cow 

Fowl 

Crown 

ounce 

now 

cloud 

count 

howl 

drown 

owl 

vow 

proud 
17.     Oi, 

gown 
as  in  Oi'l. 

growl 

frown 

The  two  errors  usually  exhibited  in  enunciating  this  element,  are 
1st,  beginning  the  diphthong  with  the  sound  of  o,  in  own,  instead  of 
that  of  o,  in  on;  2d,  closing  with  a  sound  resembling  a,  in  ale,  in- 
stead of  i,  in  in. 


Boil 

Toil 

Joy 

Coin 

Bron 

Eejoice 

coil 

soil 

hoy 

join 

spoil 

appoint 

foil 

coy 

toy 

loin 

groin 

avoid 

Use 

Tune 

Feud 

Cue 

Human 

cure 

dupe 

hew 

due 

useful 

lure 

fume 

few 

sue 

humor 

18.     U,  as  in  Z7-se,  [long,  as  in  the  verb, — short,  as  in  tne 
noun.] 

The  common  errors  in  articulating  this  compound  element,  consist 
in,  1st,  turning  the  whole  sound  into  oo,  as  in  ooze  ;  2d,  making  the 
diphthong  commence  with  a,  in  ale,  instead  of  e,  in  eve,  shortened,  or 
the  sound  of  y,  in  yet. 

Student     Constitution 
stupid       institution 
stewing    revolution 

II.     "  Subtonic"  Elements. 

1.     L,  as  in  L-u-ll. 
Loll  Lie  Lad  All  Weal  Dull 

2.     M,  as  in  ikf-ai-m. 

Tha  common  error  in  the  enunciation  of  this  element,  is  f.hat  of 
sounding  it  too  slightly,  and  in  a  slack  and  lagging  style. 

Mime  May  Move  Am  Him  Hum 

3.     N,  as  in  N-u-n. 

The  common  fault  of  enunciation  in  this,  as  in  the  preceding  ele- 
ment, is  a  want  of  that  force  which  belongs  to  energetic  and  animated 
utterance. 

Nine  Nay  Now  An  Den  Dm 


ENUNCIATION    OF    WORDS. 


35 


1      jR,  as  in  E-ap. 


[R  initial,  before  a  vowel,  or  after  a 

consonant. .] 

The  error  to  be  avoided  in  articulating-  this  element,  is  that  of  pro- 
longing it  into  a  "  roll,"  or  that  of  substituting  for  it  tbe  soft  sound 
of  r  "final."  A  correct  articulation,  in  this  instance,  always  pre- 
sents \d  the  ear  a  firm,  clear,  and  distinct,  but  very  brief  sound. 


Raw 

Eed 

Kid 

Ream 

Robe 

Rude 

Rub 

rye 

rent 

rim 

reel 

rose 

rule 

rufF 

ray 

rest 

rip 

reap 

roam 

rue 

rust 

Brag 

Brave 

Grave 

Crane 

Pray 

Trade 

Stray 

urass 

brain 

grim 

crag 

prate 

track 

stride 

brad 

braid 

groan 

cry 

prone 

tread 

strut 

5.     R,  as  in  Fa-r  ;  [r  final,  or  before  a  consonant.] 

The  error  most  frequent  in  the  articulation  of  this  element,  is  that 
of  omitting  it,  through  inadvertency.  This  fault  is  one  of  the  con- 
spicuous peculiarities  of  the  style  of  pronunciation  prevalent  among 
the  uncultivated  classes  of  the  city  of  London.  But  it  is  not  less  so, 
even  among  educated  people,  in  the  United  States.  The  soft  r,  being 
one  of  the  few  liquid  consonants  which  our  language  possesses,  should 
never  be  omitted  in  enunciation.  At  the  same  time,  it  should  never 
be  converted  into  the  opposite  r,  as  in  rap,  as  it  often  is,  in  the  style 
of  foreigners;  neither  should  it  ever  be  dwelt  upon,  or  prolonged  in 
sound.  It  is  properly  but  a  "  vanish,"  in  its  effect  on  the  ear  ;  as  its 
vibrating  and  murmuring  articulation  prevents  it  from  becoming  forci- 
ble or  distinct.  The  tongue  should  execute  it  with  a  delicate  motion 
adapted  to  its  slight  and  evanescent  character. 


Hare 

Bar 

Ear 

Ire 

Ore 

Lure 

Bur 

dare 

car 

fear 

hire 

core 

pure 

cur 

fare 

mar 

hear 

mire 

door 

sure 

pur 

Orb 

Arm 

Earn 

Dark 

Pearl 

Art 

Burn 

horn 

harm 

fern 

hark 

marl 

dart 

turn 

form 

farm 

learn 

lark 

whirl 

part 

churn 

Murmur  former     charmer  warmer   warbler  burner    forlorn 

Exercise  on  words  containing  both  sounds  of  R. 
[The  difference  in  the  sounds  of  the  luird  and  the  soft  * 
should  be  exactly  observed.] 

Rare       Rear       Roar       Reared     Roared     Rarely     Drier 
error       horror     terror     brier         prior         truer        crier 
regulai  barrier    tenier    merrier     farrier      barrier     courier 


36 


ORTHOPHONY. 


6.  Ng,  as  ill  Si-Tig  ;  [or  n,  before  g  hard  or  k.] 

King  Gong  Hang  Hung  Bank  Ink 

ring  wrong  bang  tongue         rank  sink 

wing  prong  rang  sprung        drank  wink 

Hanging  Ringing  Lancing  Mangling   Haranguing 

twanging  winging  glancing  dangling     prolonging 

swinging  bringing  dancing  wrangling  besprinkling 

7.     B,  as  in  B-a-be. 

The  forcible  execution  of  this,  and  the  two  following  elements,  in 
a  very  clear  and  compact  form,  is  often  indispensable  to  the  full  effeu* 
of  vivid  emotion. 


Babe 


Ball 


Mob 


Curb 


Did 


Gag 


Mad 


Bed 


Bead  Blab 

8.  Dj  as  in  D-i-d. 
Dawn           Den  Laid 

9.  G,  as  in  G-z-g, 
Gave            Gall  Gull  Hag  Log 

10.     F,  as  in  F-al-z;e. 

Valve        Vaunt        Cave        Leave        Velvet        Survive 

11.     Z,  as  in  Z-one,  [or  s  flat.] 

Maze  Has  Daisies 

12.     Z,  as  in  A-z-ure,  [or  s,  as  in  measure.] 


Zone 


Dis 


Seizure 

Measure        Vision        Composure 
13.     Y,  as  in  Y-e. 

Derision 

Ye 

yea- 

Yes2             Young             Yawn 
you                youth                yell 

Yearly 
yellow 

14.     W,  as  in  W-oe. 
Way  Was  Ware  Wed  Wine 

15.     TH,  as  in  TH-ine. 
They         Than         Then         Thee        Bathe        Beneach 

1  Yay,  not  "  y«."     2  Yes,  not  "  yiss."    In  these  and  a  few  other  words,  the 
•tyle  recoBMJJeii«4  by  Walker,  is  now  obsolete 


ENUNCIATION    OF    WORDS.  37 

16.     J",  as  in  J-oy,  [and  G,  soft.] 
Jay  Jar  Jilt  Page  Giant  Judge 

III.      "Atonic"  Elements, 

f All  "  atonies,"  from  their  utter  want  of  vocality,  need  great 
force  and  precision  in  their  articulation.] 

1.  P,  as  in  P-i-pe. 

Pulp  Pall  Pile  Pale  Paper  Pulpy 

2.  T,  as  in  T-en-f. 

Tight  Tall  Top  Mat  Tatter  Total 

3.     C,  hard,  and  K,  as  in  C-a-Z-e ;  and  Q,  as  in  Q-ueen. 
Key         Cane  Queen  Creak  Deck  Cork 

4.     F,  as  in  F-i-fe. 
Fade  Fell  File  Off  Hoof  Fly 

5.     S,  (sharp,)  and  C,  soft,  as  in  C-ea-se. 
Say        See         Sauce         Mass         Source         Ceaseless 

6.     H9  as  in  H-e. 
Hail  Had  Heel  Hit  What  Whet 

7.  Th,  as  in  TA-in. 

Thank       Through       Thong       Thrust       Hath       Breath 

8.  Sk,  as  in  Fash. 

Sham         Shine         Share         Shroud         Ash         Hush 

9.     Ch,  as  in  CA-ur-cA. 
Chair  Check  March  Chine  Fetch 

IV,     Syllabic  Combinations, 

1.     Initial  Syllables. 

The  common  faults  in  the  enunciation  of  syllables,  consist  in  a 
slack,  obscure  articulation  of  the  single  elements  of  which  they  are 


38  ORTHOPHONY. 

composed,  and,  in  addition,  the  fault  of  negligently  allowing  a  vowel 
sound  to  intervene  between  the  consonants;  thus,  "  bald,11  for  bid. 
True  taste  will  pever  allow  a  slovenly  style  of  articulation,  but  wil 
always  maintain  a  neat,  clear,  and  exact  sound  of  every  element,  in 
whatever  combination  it  may  occur. 

Bl,  el,  Jl,  gl,  pi,  si,  spl. 

Blame,  bleed,  blow,  blest.     Claim,  clean,  clime,  close,  clot. 
Flame,  flee,  fly,  flit.     Glare,  gleam,  glide,  gloss.     Place,  plea, 
pTy>  please.     Slay,  sleep,  slide,  slew.     Spleen,  splice,  splay. 
Br,  cr,  dr,  fr,  gr,  pr,  spr,  tr,  str,  shr. 

[The  following  words  need  attention  to  a  clear,  distinct 
enunciation  of  the  hard  r, — free,  however,  from  prolongation 
and  roll.] 

Brave,  bread,  brink.  Crave,  creep,  cried,  crust.  Drain, 
dream,  dry,  drop.  Frame,  free,  fro,  freeze.  Grain,  green, 
grind,  ground.  Pray,  preach,  pry,  proud.  Spray,  spring, 
sprung,  sprang.  Trace,  tree,  try,  trust,  track,  tread,  trip,  true. 
Stray,  street,  strife,  strength.     Shrine,  shroud,  shrub,  shriek 

Sm,  sn,  sp,  st. 
Small,  smite,  smote.     Snare,  sneer,  snow,  snug.     Space 
speed,  spike,  spear.     Stay,  steer,  stile,  stop. 

2.     Final  Syllables. 

Ld,  If,  Ik,  hn,  Ip,  Is,  It,  Ive. 

Bold,  hailed,  tolled.     Elf,  wolf,  gulf,  sylph.     Milk,  silk, 

bulk,  hulk.      Elm,  helm,  whelm,  film.      Help,  gulp,  Alp, 

scalp.     Falls,  tells,  toils.     Fault,  melt,  bolt,  hilt.     E lve,  delve, 

revolve. 

M1  d,  7ns,  nd,  ns,  nk,  nee,  nt. 
Maim'd,    claim'd,    climb'd,    gloom'd.      Gleams,    sti earns, 
climes,  stems.    And,  band,  hand,  land,  lined,  moaned.    Gairs, 
dens,  gleans,  suns.     Bank,  dank,  drink,  link.     Dance,  glance 
hen:e,  ounce.     Ant,  want,  gaunt,  point. 

Rb,  rd,  rk,  rm,  rn,  rse,  rs  (rz,)  ri,  rve,  rVd,  rlc'd,  rm'd,  rnd, 
rst,  rv'd. 
Barb,  orb.  herb,  curb,  barb'd,  orb'd,  curb'd,  disturb'd.    Hard 


ENUNCIATION    OP    WORDS.  39 

herd,  hir'd,  board,  lord,  gourd,  bar'd,  barr'd.  Haik,  lark,  jerk 
stork,  work,  mark'd,  jerk'd,  work'd.  Arm,  harm,  farm,  alarm, 
arm'd,  harm'd,  alarm'd.  Earn,  learn,  scorn,  thorn,  burn,  turn, 
worn,  shorn,  earn'd,  scorn'd,  burn'd,  turn'd.  Hearse,  verse, 
force,  horse,  dar'st,  burst,  first,  worst,  hears'd,  vers'd,  forc'd, 
hors'd.  Bars,  bears,  hears,  wears,  pairs,  tares,  snares,  repairs. 
Mart,  dart,  start,  hurt,  pert,  girt.  Carve,  curve,  serve,  starve, 
carv'd,  curv'd,  serv'd,  starv'd. 

Sm,  s'n,  sp,  st,  ss'd,  ks,  ct,  k'd,  ft,  ftd,  pt,  p'd,  p'n  tin,  d'n, 
tin,  fn. 
Chasm,  schism,  prism,  criticism,  witticism,  patriotism. 
1  Reas'n,  seas'n,  ris'n,  chos'n.  Asp,  clasp,  grasp,  wasp,  lisp, 
crisp.  Vast,  mast,  lest,  dost,  must,  lost,  mist ;  pass'd,  bless'd, 
gloss'd,  miss'd.  Makes,  quakes,  likes,  looks,  streaks,  rocks, 
crooks.  Act,  fact,  respect,  reject ;  wak'd,  lik'd,  look'd,  rock'd. 
Waft,  oft,  left,  sift,  quaff'd,  scofT'd,  laugh'd.  Apt,  wept, 
crept;  sipp'd,  supp'd,  slop'd,  pip'd,  popp'd.  'Op'n,  rip'n, 
weap'n,  happ'n.  Tak'n,  wak'n,  weak'n,  tok'n,  drunk'n. 
Sadd'n,  gladd'n,  lad'n,  burd'n,  hard'n,  gard'n.  Grav'n, 
heav'n,  riv'n,  ov'n,  ev'n,  giv'n,  wov'n.  Bright'n,  tight'n 
whit'n. 

Lst,  771st,  nst,  rst,  dst,  rdst,  rmdst,  r?idst. 

Call'st,  heal'st,  till'st,  fill'st,  roll'st,  pull'st.  Arm's! 
charm'st,  form'st,  harm'st.  Can'st,  runn'st,  gain'st,  against, 
(agenst.)  Durst,  worst,  erst,  first,  bar'st,  barr'st,  hir'st 
Midst,  calPdst,  fill'dst,  roll'dst.  Heard'st,  guard'st,  reward'st 
discard'st.  Arm'dst,  harm'dst,  form'dst,  charm 'dst.  Learn'dst 
scorn'dst,  burn'dst,  turn'dst. 

Ble,  pie,  die,  rl,  bVd,  dVd,  pVd,  rid. 
Able,  feeble,  bible,  double;  troubl'd,  babbl'd,  bubbl'd 
doubl'd.  Ample,  steeple,  triple,  topple;  tripl'd,  toppFd, 
dappl'd,  crippl'd.  Cradle,  saddle,  idle,  bridle;  cradl'd 
saddl'd,  idl'd,  swaddl'd.  Marl,  hurl,  whirl;  world,  huil'd, 
whirl'd,  furl'd. 

1  O  and  E  shoild  never  be  heard,  in  these  and  similar  words,  unless  in  sing. 
ing,  and  then  only  when  a  verse  demands  ihe  syllable  as  a  requisite  to  metre 


40 


ORTHOPHONY. 


Ngs,  ngst,  ng'd,  ngdst. 
Rings,  wrongs,  hangs,  songs ;  hang'st,  sing'st,  wrong's^ 
bring'st;  wrong'd,  hang'd,  clang'd ;  wrong'dst,  throng'dst. 

V.     Exercise  in  transition  from   one   class  of  Elements  to 
another. 

The  design  of  tins  exercise  is  to  impress  vividly  on  the  mind  the 
distinctive  quality  of  each  species  of  sound,  and  the  effect  of  each  oa 
the  organic  action. — The  columns  are  to  be  read  across  the  page 


VI. 


"  Tonics:' 

"  Subtonics." 

"Atonies." 

AA\ 

B-€L-bo 

P-i-pe 

A-m 

B-i-d 

T-en-t 

A-TL 

®*-g 

C-z-ke 

E-ve 

F-al-z?e 

F-i-fe 

Oo-Ze 

Z-one 

C-ea-se 

E-VT 

A-z-ure 

Fu-sh 

JE-nd 

TH-en 

Th-in 

I-n 

J"-ud-ge 

Ch-ur-ch 

Exercise  in 

transition  from  one 
to  another. 

class  of  Organic  Ac 

Labials. 

Dentals. 

Aspirate. 

B-z-be 

B-i-d 

H-e 

P-i-pe 

T-en-t 

Nasals. 

M-ai-m 

Th-in 

N-u-n 

W-oe 

TH-ine 

Si-7ig 

V-rI-vq 

J-oy 

Linguals. 

F-i-fe 

Ch-m-ch 

L-VL-ll 

Palatics* 

A-z-ure 

R-a-n 

C-n-ke 

Fn-sh 

F-a-r 

G-a-g 

C-ea-se 

F-e 

Z-one 

VII.     Exercise  in  difficult  Combinations  of  Elements. 

1.     Z7,  as  in  Use. 

Lwcibration        Institution  Accwmwlate       Incalculably 

lwg&brious  constitution        manipulate        superiority 

incalculable         revolution  deglutition         supremacy 


ENUNCIATION    OF    WORDS. 


41 


Words  of  many  syllables 


Absolute  y 

abstinently 

accessory 

accurately 

agitated 

adequately 

angularly 

antepenult 

architecture 

agriculture 

Annihilate 

antipathy 

apocrypha 

apostatize 

appropriate 

assiduous 

assimilate 

associate 

auricular 

Acquiescence 

acquisition 

alienation 


Necessarily 

ordinarily 

momentarily 

temporarily 

voluntarily 

Obediently 

immediately 

innumerable 

intolerable 

dishonorable 

ambiguously 

articulately 

collaterally 

colloquially 

Affability 

agricultural 

allegorical 

alimentary 

astrological 

atmospherical 

Christianity 

chronological 


Coextensively 

Annihilation 

annunciation 

appreciation 

apologetic 

association 

circumlocution 

apocalyptic 

circumvolution 

coagulation 

colonization 

commemoration 

Congratulatory 

authoritatively 

disinterestedly 

expostulatory 

Die'.etically 

disin^enuousness 

Immutability 

compatibility 

ecclesiastical 

spirituality 


3.     Repetition  of  Elements. 

Hail !  heavenly  /^armony. 

Up  the  high,  hill  he  Aeaved  a  huge  round  stone. 

Heaven's  first  star  alike  ye  see. 

Let  it  wave  proudly  o'er  the  good  and  brave 

The  supply  lasts  still. 

And  gleaming  arid  streaming  and  steaming  and  learning 

And  rushing  and  flushing  and  brushing  and  gushing, 

And  flapping  and  rapping  and  clapping  and  slapping, 

And  curling  and  whirling  and  purling  and!  twirling, 

Retreating  and  beating  and  meeting  and  sheeting, 

Delaying  and  straying  and  playing  and  spraying, 

Advancing  and  glancing  and  prancing  and  dancing, 

4# 


42  ORTHOPHONY. 

Recoiling,  turmoiling  and  toiling-  and  boiling, 

And  thumping  mid  flumping1  and  bumping  and  jumping, 

And  dashing  and  flashing-  and  splashing'  and  clashing-, 

And  so  never  ending,  but  alwaijs  descending-, 

Sounds  and  motions  for  ever  and  ever  are  blending,    ' 

All  at  once  and  all  o'er,  with  a  mighty  uproar  ; 

And  this  way  the  water  comes  down  at  Lodore. 

It  is  the  Hist  sten  that  costs. 

The  deed  was  done  in  broad  day. 

No?ie  now  was  left  to  tell  the  mournful  tale. 

Ta&e  care  that  you  be  not  deceived, — dear  friends. 

Lie  Zightly  on  her,  earth. !  her  step  was  light  on  thee. 

Thou  wast  struck  dumb  with  amazement. 

Can  no  one  be  found  faithful  enough  to  warn  him  of  his 
danger  ?     No  one  dared  do  it. 

A  good  deal  of  disturbance  ensued. 

He  gave  him  good  advice  which  he  did  not  take. 

A  dark  cloud  spread  over  the  heavens. 

Had  he  but  heeded  the  counsel  of  his  friend,  he  might  have 
been  saved. 

He  came  at  last  Zoo  late  to  be  of  any  service. 

The  magistrates  stood  on  an  elevated  platform.1 


It  is  a  fact  familiar  in  the  experience  of  most  teachers,  that,  after 
the  utmost  care  in  the  systematic  cultivation  of  the  utterance  of  young 
readers,  by  regular  analytic  exercises,  such  as  the  preceding,  the 
influence  of  colloquial  negligence  in  habit,  is  so  powerful,  that  the 
same  individual  who  has  just  articulated,  with  perfect  exactness,  the 
elements  on  a  column,  —  while  he  is  kept  mechanically  on  his  guard 
against  error,  by  express  attention  to  details,  —  will,  immediately  on 
beginning  to  read  a  page  of  continuous  expression  of  thought,  relapse 
into  his  wonted  errors  of  enunciation.  To  correct  this  tendency ,  no 
resoi  t  is  so  effectual  as  that  of  studying  analytically  a  few  lines,  pre- 
vious to  commencing  the  usual  practice  of  a  reading  lesson.  The 
attention  must  first  be  turned  to  the  words  as  such,  —  as  forms  of 
articulation,  —  then  to  their  sounds  in  connection  with  their  sense. 

The  following  will  be  found  useful  modes  of  practising  such  exer- 

1  These  an  1  similar  examples,  as  they  occur  in  reading  lessons,  should  be 
repeated  till  they  can  be  executed  with  perfect  distinctness,  and  with  rui  easy 
exertion  of  the  organs.  But  a  hard  and  labored  style  shculd  be  ca/efully 
avoided  as  a  very  ba.  fault. 


PRONUNCIATION.  43 

cijes  as  are  now  suggested.  Begin  at  the  end  of  a  line5  sentence,  or 
paragraph,  so  as  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  reading  negligently  : 
then,  1st,  articulate  every  clement  in  every  word,  separately  and  very 
distinctly,  throughout  the  line  or  sentence ;  2d,  enunciate  every  syl- 
lable of  each  word,  throughout  the  line  or  sentence,  clearly  and 
exactly  ;  3d,  pronounce  every  ivord,  in  the  same  style  ;  4th,  read  the 
line  or  sentence,  from  the  beginning,  forward,  with  strict  attention  to 
the  manner  of  pronouncing  every  word ;  5th,  read  the  whole  line  or 
sentence  with  an  easy  fluent  enunciation,  paying  strict  attention  to  the 
expression  of  the  meaning,  but  without  losing  correctness  in  tlie  style 
of  pronunciation. 

This  is,  apparently,  a  merely  mechanical  drill ;  but  its  effects  are 
strikingly  beneficial,  in  a  very  short  time.  The  habits  of  classes  of 
young  readers  have  thus  been,  in  some  instances,  effectually  changed, 
within  a  very  few  weeks,  from  slovenliness  and  indistinctness  to  per- 
fect precision  and  propriety,  united  to  fluency  and  freedom  of  style. 

To  adults,  also,  the  practice  of  such  exercises  as  have  been  men- 
tioned, proves,  in  the  highest  degree,  useful,  as  an  effectual  means 
of  correcting  erroneous  habit,  and  of  acquiring  that  distinctness  of 
utterance  which  is  so  important  in  the  exercise  of  public  speaking,  or 
in  that  of  private  reading,  for  social  and  literary  purposes. 

An  exercise  of  great  practical  value,  as  regards  the  formation  of 
habit  in  enunciation,  is,  to  select  from  every  reading  lesson,  before 
and  after  the  regular  consecutive  reading  of  a  piece,  all  words  and 
phrases  which  contain  difficult  combinations,  and  repeat  them  often 


PRONUNCIATION. 

A  full  statement  of  the  rules  of  usage  in  pronunciation,  as  regards 
the  accent  of  polysyllables,  does  not  properly  fall  within  the  scope  of 
this  work,  which  is  designed  rather  for  the  cultivation  of  the  voice, 
and  the  discipline  of  the  organs,  than  as  a  manual  of  orthoepy.  The 
most  important  classes  of  errors  in  pronunciation,  have  been  already 
indicated.  But  this  branch  of  the  subject  is  discussed,  at  greater 
length,  in  the  "  American  Elocutionist,"  to  which  the  present  volume 
is  introductory.  It  occurs  in  a  form  adapted  to  the  instruction  of 
young  readers,  in  the  "  Introduction  to  the  American  Common-School 
Reader  and  Speaker,"  and  is  presented  for  the  use  of  professional 
speakers,  in  the  volume  entitled  "  Pulpit  Elocution."  l 

For  the  present  purpose  it  may  suffice  to  suggest  the  benefit  arising 
from  the  daily  systematic  study  of  a  good  standard  dictionary  of 
orthoepy;  such  as  Walker's,  which,  —  with  due  allowance  for  a 
very  few  points  in  which  custom  has  slightly  changed  since  that  work 
was  written,  —  remains  the  most  accurate  report  of  authorized  cus- 
tom, in  the  vast  majority  of  places  where  the  English  language  is 
spoken.  If  Dr.  Webster's  dictionary  be  preferred,  the  8vo  edition 
of  it,  prepared  by  Mr.  J.  E.  Worcester,  will  be  found  the  most  use- 
ful ;    as  it  contains,  in  the  introduction,  a  full  list  of  all  words  in 

1  The  works  mentioned  in  the  text,  are  prepared  by  the  compiler  of  thii 
•nanual 


44  ORTHOPHONY. 

which  Dr.  Webster's  style  is  peculiar  to  himself,  or  merely  to  the 
local  custom  of  New  England,  which,  as  regards  the  standard  of  the 
genuine  pronunciation  of  the  English  language,  is  justly  considered, 
elsewhere,  as  liable  to  the  same  objections  with  the  local  peculiarities 
of  Scotland  or  of  Ireland,  —  current,  as  sanctioned  by  respectable 
authority,  in  their  several  regions,  but,  when  referred  to  the  standard 
of  general  English  usage,  to  be  condemned  as  faults. 


CHAPTER  in. 
"QUALITY"   OF  VOICE. 


The  learner,  having  acquired,  by  the  exercises  prescribed  in  the 
preceding  chapters,  a  free  and  forcible  use  of  the  breathing  apparatus, 
and  of  the  organs  of  speech  which  are  employed  in  articulation,  has 
thus  laid  the  requisite  foundation  for  the  course  of  vocal  training  in 
"  expression,"  or  the  various  qualities  of  utterance,  which  are  the 
appropriate  language  of  emotion. 

The  word  utterance,  as  a  term  in  elocution,  is  used  to  designate  the 
mere  act  of  forming  and  emitting  voice  :  it  does  not  necessarily  imply 
any  of  those  functions  of  the  organs  by  which  articulate  sound  is  pro- 
duced ;  thus  we  speak  of  a  person  uttering  a  cry,  a  groan,  a  sigh,  a 
moan,  a  sob,  or  a  laugh.  In  a  correspondent  use  of  language,  we 
read  that  "  the  seven  thunders  uttered  their  voices." 

The  function  of  utterance  is  necessarily  attended,  however,  with  a 
given  degree  of  force  in  sound,  —  from  that  of  whispering,  or  of  any 
of  the  intermediate  stages,  to  that  of  shouting  and  calling.  It  implies, 
also,  a  certain  note  of  the  scale,  —  high,  low,  or  intermediate  in  pitch. 
The  utterance  of  successive  sounds  is,  farther,  slow,  rapid,  or  mode- 
rate, as  regards  the  rate  of  movement.  These  properties,  —  force, 
pitch,  and  rate,  or  movement,  coexist  in  one  strain  of  utterance,  and 
are,  to  the  ear,  independent  of  the  process  of  articulation  or  the  func- 
tion of  speech.  An  example  of  mere  utterance  is  furnished  in  the 
successive  notes  of  a  song  hummed  or  sung  without  words,  —  or  sung 
at  such  a  distance  from  us,  that  we  cannot  distinguish  the  words. 
The  case  is  similar,  when  we  overhear  a  person  reading,  or  talking, 
in  an  adjoining  room,  but  when  we  do  not  hear  so  distinctly  as  to 
recognize  the  enunciation  of  letters  or  syllables.  We  perceive,  in 
such  instances,  that  the  voice  of  the  reader  or  speaker,  is  soft  or  loud, 
high  or  low,  and  that  it  moves  fast  or  slow  ;  but  we  cannot  tell  what 
is  said:  we  hear  the  utterance,  but  not  the  articulation,  of  vocal 
sound. 

The  formation  of  even  a  single  sound  of  the  human  voice,  is  neces- 
sarily attended  by  yet  another  property,  its  predominating  quality  as 


WHISPERING.  45 

•  tone  "--in  the  popular  sense  of  that  word.  When  we  overhear, 
as  already  supposed,  a  person  reading  or  talking,  but  at  such  a  dis- 
tance from  us,  or  with  such  objects  intervening,  that  we  cannot  make 
out  the  articulate  character  of  the  sounds  which  are  uttered,  we  may 
still  be  able  to  say,  with  confidence,  that  the  voice  of  the  reader  or 
speaker  has  a  cheerful  or  a  mournful  tone,  a  lively  or  a  solemn 
sound.  Farther,  we  say,  perhaps  with  equal  certainty,  that  the  per- 
son has  a  hollow,  a  guttural,  a  nasal,  a  sharp,  a  thin,  a  rough,  a 
round,  a  full,  or  a  smooth  voice. 

The  utterance  of  even  a  single  exclamation  of  emotion,  may,  in 
this  way,  enable  us  to  define  the  feeling  of  a  reader  or  speaker,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  to  recognize  the  "  quality,"  —  as  it  is  termed, — 
of  his  voice. 


WHISPERING. 

The  progressive  discipline  of  the  organs,  for  the  purposes  ot  utter- 
ance, comprises  the  practice  of  every  stage  of  audible  voice,  from 
whispering  to  shouting  and  calling.  We  proceed,  now,  to  the  first 
stage  of  utterance,  —  that  of  whispering ,  which  is  the  nearest,  in 
style  and  effect,  to  breathing,  and  forms  the  extreme  of  "  aspirated," 
or  breathing  "  quality." 

The  function  of  whispering  lies,  as  it  were,  half  way  between 
breathing  and  "  vocality,"  or  the  actual  production  of  vocal  sound,  in 
the  form  termed  by  musicians  "  pure  tone."  Whispering  differs 
from  even  the  '*  explosive,"  or  strongest  form  of  the  breathing  exer- 
cises, in  being  articulated  as  a  mode  of  speech,  and  in  taking  on,  to  a 
certain  extent,  the  qualities  of4'  expression  ;"  thus  we  no1  only  use 
the  whisper  for  secret  communication,  but  for  the  utterance  of  exces- 
sive fear,  or  of  deep  awe,  suppressed  anger,  or  any  other  naturally 
violent  emotion,  when  it  is  kept  down  by  some  overawing  restraint. 

Whispering,  therefore,  as  a  discipline  of  the  organs  of  voice,  car- 
ries on,  to  a  greater  extent,  and  with  more  special  effect,  all  the  bene- 
ficial results  of  the  exercises  in  full,  deep,  and  forcible  breathing. 
The  whisper,  even  in  its  gentlest  or  "effusive"  form,  should,  as  a 
vocal  exercise,  be  practised  on  the  scale  of  public  speaking,  —  that  is 
to  say,  with  a  force  sufficient  to  create  full  and  distinct  articulation, 
and  intelligible  utterance,  in  a  large  hall,  or  any  similar  apartment. 

The  function  of  whispering,  on  this  scale,  it  will  be  easily  per- 
ceived, demands  the  full  expansion  of  the  chest,  a  deep  inspiration,  a 
'powerful  expulsion  of  the  breath,  the  practice  of  frequent  pausing  and 
renewing  the  supply  of  breath,  without  which  a  forcible  whisper  can- 
not be  sustained. 

This  species  of  exercise  combines,  therefore,  the  discipline  of  full 
and  energetic  respiration,  with  that  of  forcible  utterance.  It  demands 
a  large  and  a  frequent  supply  of  breath,  and  trains  the  student  to 
close  attention  to  his  habit  of  breathing,  and  to  the  position  of  the 
body  and  the  action  of  the  organs.  It  thus  facilitates  the  acquisition 
of  a  perfect  control  over  the  organs  of  speech,  —  the  prime  requisite 
to  easy  and  effective  utterance. 

A  subsidiary  advantage  attending  this  process  of  powerful  whiaf  *r- 


. 46  ORTHOPHONY. 

ingy,  consists  in  the  greatly  increased  intensity  which  it  produces  in 
the  organic  function  of  articulation.  The  whisper  being  performed 
as  if  addressedUo  a  person  at  the  distance  of  a  hundred  feet  from  the 
speaker,  compels  a  force  of  percussion  in  the  tongue  and  the  other 
minor  Organs  of  speech,  sufficient  to  compensate  for  the  absence  of 
the  common  round  tone  of  the  voice.  The  style  of  enunciation, 
accordingly,  becomes  that  of  the  most  intense  earnestness.  The 
exercise  now  prescribed,  therefore,  is  of  immense  advantage,  as  a 
preparatory  discipline  to  the  organs  of  speech,  as  well  as  a  process  of 
training  for  full-toned  and  energetic  use  of  the  voice. 

Whispering,  —  like  breathing,  and  like  resonant  vocal  utterance, 
—  has  the  three  forms  described  under  the  head  of  Exercises  in 
Breathing,  —  "  effusive,"  or  tranquil ;  "  expulsive,"  or  forcible ;  and 
"  explosive,"  or  abrupt  and  violent. 

1.     "  Effusive  "  Whispering, 

This  mode  of  utterance  belongs  to  tranquil  emotion,  wnen  express- 
ed in  the  language  of  deep-felt  awe  or  profound  repose,  which  repres- 
ses, by  an  approach  to  fear,  at  the  same  time  that  it  excites  the  voice 
by  its  intensity. 

The  exercise  in  "  effusive  "  whispering,  should  be  practised  with 
strict  attention  to  full,  deliberate  breathing,  and  the  exact  articulation 
of  every  element,  —  1st,  on  all  the  "  tonic  "  L  elements  of  the  lan- 
guage ;  2d,  on  the  "  subtonics ;"  3d,  on  the  "  atonies;"  4th,  on 
syllables ;  5th,  on  words,  as  arranged  in  the  columns  of  Exercises 
in  Articulation ;  6th,  on  the  following  stanza,2  which  should  be 
often  repeated. 

Exercise. 
Stillness  of  Night.  —  Byron 

"  All  heaven  and  earth  are  still, — though  not  m  steep, 
But  breathless,  as  we  grow  when  feeling  most ; 

And  silent,  as  we  stand  in  thoughts  too  deep  :  — 
All  heaven  and  earth  are  still :  From  ;he  high  host 
Of  stars  to  the  lulled  lake,  and  mountain  coast, 

All  is  concentrated  in  a  life  intense, 

Where  not  a  beam,  nor  air,  nor  leaf  is  lost, 

But  hath  a  part  of  being,  and  a  sense 

Of  that  which  is  of  all  Creator  and  Defence."2 


*See  Chapter  on  Orthoepy,  and  Tables  of  Orthophony. 

2 It  is  not  meant  that  the  above  stanza  is  necessarily  and  uniformly  to  he 
whispered,  in  reading  or  reciting  the  passage  from  which  it  is  takeq,  Tlia 
extract  is  here  used  as  a  convenient  exercise,  merely. 


2.  H  ISgjpu 

Thii-  species  of  exercise,  being  riu 
ceding,  and  corresponding,  in  energy, 
tory  utterance,  when  given  forth  with  the 
voice,  has  yet  a  more  powerful  influence  on  the 
the  vocal   organs.     It   should   be   repeatedly  pe*.. 
utmost  force  of  the  whisper,  which  the  student  can  Co. 
elements,  syllables  and  words,  and  on  the  following  e.» 
tone  of  which  implies  the  intensest  force  of  earnest  utterance, 
pressed  by  apprehension  approaching  to  fear. 

Exercise. 

Military  Command  .  —  Anonymous. 

"  Soldiers  !  You  are  now  within  a  few  steps  of  the  enemy's 
outpost.  Our  scouts  report  them  as  slumbering  in  parties 
around  their  watch-fires,  and  utterly  unprepared  for  our  ap- 
proach. A  swift  and  noiseless  advance  around  that  projecting 
rock,  and  we  are  upon  them, — we  capture  them  without  the 
possibility  of  resistance.  —  One  disorderly  noise  or  motion 
may  leave  us  at  the  mercy  of  their  advanced  guard.  Let 
every  man  keep  the  strictest  silence,  under  pain  of  instant 
death!" 

3.  "Explosive"  Whispering. 

The  "  explosive"  whisper,  like  the  "  explosive5'  Dreathing,  imparts 
a  still  greater  power  to  the  vocal  organs,  by  the  vivid,  abrupt,  and 
instantaneous  force,  with  which  it  bursts  out.  Tne  explosive  inten- 
sity of  articulation,  which  it  produces,  calls  at  the  same  time  for  the 
utmost  precision  in  the  functions  of  the  ton<r~ie,  the  lips,  and  all  the 
minor  instruments  of  enunciation.  The  whisper  should,  in  this  form, 
burst  forth  as  suddenly  as  if  the  breath  were  fr-ced  out  by  the  instant 
effect  of  a  violent  blow  applied  to  the  back.  This  style  of  whisper- 
ing should  be  repeatedly  practised  on  the  elements,  syllables,  and 
words,  and  on  the  following  exercise,  whicu  exemplifies  the  utter- 
ance of  the  most  abrupt  and  intense  alarm,  at  once  exciting  and  sup- 
pressing the  voice. 

Exercise. 

Military  Command .  —  Anon. 

"  Hark  !  I  hear  the  bugles  of  the  enemy  !  They  are  on 
their  march  along  the  bank  of  the  li'-cr.  We  must  retreat 
instantly,  or  be  cut  off  from  our  boats.     I  see  the  head  oi  their 


ONY. 

ght.     Our  only  safety  is  in 

^eep  close  to  it ;  be  silent ;  and 

j  boats  !     Forward ! " 

.spering  may  now  be  repeated,  on  the  prcced- 
form  of  a  half  whisper,  —  which,  as  its  name 
*vay  between  a  whisper  and  the  ordinary  "  quality  " 
.  *'  pure  tone." 

PURE    TONE. 

One  of  the  most  important  parts  of  vocal  culture,  is  that  which 
defines  the  "  qualities "  of  the  voice,  and  prescribes  appropriate 
exercises  for  the  formation  of  good,  and  the  eradication  of  bad, 
habits  of  utterance. 

A  deep,  round,  clear,  full,  and  sweet  voice,  is  too  commonly 
regarded  as  one  of  nature's  rare  gifts  to  her  few  favorites.  This 
popular  impression,  like  many  others  of  a  similar  nature,  proceeds 
upon  the  erroneous  assumption,  that  what  we  observe  as  fact,  is 
necessarily  such. 

A  good  voice,  —  owing  to  our  prevalent  deficiency  in  cultivation, 
—  is  a  thing  so  rare,  that  we  are  apt  to  regard  it  as  an  original  en- 
dowment of  constitution,  —  a  grace  not  lying  within  the  scope  of 
acquisition,  a  charm  the  absence  of  which,  like  that  of  personal 
beauty,  implies  no  fault. 

Observation,  however,  will  remind  us  of  the  fact  that  all  children 
in  good  health,  and  in  cheerful  or  tranquil  mood,  have,  naturally,  in 
their  habit  of  utterance,  a  round,  sweet,  and  clear  tone.  The  fact 
continues  thus,  with  every  child,  in  the  earliest  stage  of  life.  It 
ceases,  when  the  voice  ceases  to  utter  the  feelings  of  the  heart, — 
when  the  mechanical  processes  of  spelling  and  syllabication  com- 
mence, and  the  voice  becomes  adapted  to  the  routine  of  reading,  as 
commonly  taught  at  school.  — Judicious  culture  might  evidently  pre- 
serve, and  cherish,  and  confirm  the  beautiful  tendency  of  habit,  origi- 
nally implanted  in  the  human  voice  and  ear. 

We  are  familiar  with  the  fact,  that  true  musical  cultivation  pro- 
ceeds upon  the  assumption,  and  insists,  with  inevitable  authority,  on 
the  primary  rule,  that  every  human  voice  can  and  must  utter  "  pure  " 
tone.  No  failure,  no  remissness,  in  this  respect,  is  ever  tolerated  in 
appropriate  training  in  vocal  music.  The  result,  —  as  might  be 
expected,  —  corresponds  to  the  pains  taken  to  regulate  the  position 
and  action  of  the  organs,  in  elementary  practice.  All  who  are 
recognized  as  even  tolerable  singers,  utter  every  sound  of  the  voice 
in  the  form  of  pure  tone,  —  entirely  free  from  pectoral  gruffness, 
guttural  suffocation,  nasal  twang,  or  oral  thinness  of  quality  ;  and 
among  proficients  in  the  art,  whatever  personal  peculiarity  of  voice 
is  suffered  to  exist,  is  such  only  as  keeps  within  the  limits  of  perfect 
purity,  and  serves  rather  to  form  a  crowning  grace  from  the  hand  of 
nature,  than  in  any  sense,  a  defect.1  —  A  similar  result  will  always 

1  We  may  refer,  here,  to  familiar  examples,  in  the  occasionally  rich,  racy 


FAULT    OF  "  ASPIRATED    TONE."  49 

be  found  to  attend  the  diligent  cultivation  of  the  voice,  in  the  modea 
of  utterance  appropriate  in  reading  and  conversation. 

Faults  in  "  Quality"  which  impair  "  Purity  "  of  Tone. 

The  first  point  to  which,  in  the  training  of  the  vocal  organs,  it 
becomes  important  to  direct  the  attention,  with  a  view  to  render  the 
ear  discriminating  in  relation  to  the  qualities  of  the  voice  in  utterance, 
is  the  exemplification  of  the  common  faults  in  "  quality,"  by  which 
purity  of  tone  is  prevented  or  impaired.     These  are  the  following  : 

1.  A  hollow  and  false  pectoral  murmur,  arising  from  an 
imperfect  habit  of  breathing,  in  consequence  of  which,  the 
lungs  are  not  furnished  with  a  sufficient  supply  of  air,  to  pro- 
duce full  and  clear  tone. 

Another  cause  of  this  fault  in  utterance,  usually  is  the  feeble 
action  of  the  abdominal  muscles,  and,  therefore,  an  inadequate 
expulsion  of  the  breath,  and  a  smothered  or  muffled  quality  of  voice, 
which  makes  its  sound  appear  buried  within  the  frame  or  issuing 
directly  from  the  chest.  This  fault  of  utterance  may,  from  the 
character  of  its  effect  on  the  ear,  be  properly  denominated  pectoral 
tone.  It  arises,  in  some  instances,  from  ill  health,  or  a  feeble  con- 
dition of  the  bodily  organs ;  in  others,  from  the  oppressive  influence 
of  diffidence  and  constraint.  Students,  and  other  persons  of  seden- 
tary habit,  and  female  readers,  in  particular,  incline  to  this  faulty 
mode  of  utterance.  The  low  note  which  always  accompanies  this 
quality  of  voice,  serves  greatly  to  increase  its  false  and  hollow  sound, 
the  prevalence  of  which  gives  to  all  reading,  indiscriminately,  the 
tones  of  solemnity  and  awe.  Full  inspiration,  the  expulsive  action 
of  the  abdominal  muscles,  and  the  cultivation  of  the  middle  notes  of 
the  voice,  together  with  habits  of  healthful  exercise  and  cheerful 
emotions,  are  the  best  remedies  for  a  tendency  to  hollow  pectoral 
one. 

2.  A  fault  which  bears  a  resemblance  to  the  preceding,  is 
that  of  aspirated  quality,  by  which,  a  half- whispering  effect 
of  fear  is  imparted  to  every  sound  of  the  voice. 

This  defect  of  utterance  arises,  in  part,  from  the  want  of  sufficiently 
fj-l  and  deep  inspiration,  to  produce  pure  and  full  tone;  it  arises, 
sometimes,  from  organic  weakness,  or  from  embarrassment,  which 
causes  a  slight  "rigor"  of  the  organic  parts,  and  consequently 
allows  more  breath  to  escape  from  the  trachea,  than  is  converted  into 
sound  by  the  larynx.     The  condition  of  pure  tone  is,  that   much 

quality,  which  characterizes  the  vocalist,  Mr.  H.  Russell ;  the  clear,  crystal- 
line points  of  sound,  in  that  of  Madame  Caradori  Allan  ;  the  warm,  breathing 
flow  of  that  of  Mrs.  Wood,  or  the  exquisite,  soft  fulness  of  that  of  Mr.  R. 
'hillips. 


50  ORTHOPHONY, 

nreath  should  be  drawn  in,  but  little  given  out,  and  that  the  wliOie 
of  what  is  Buffered  to  escape,  should  be  converted  into  sound  ;  while, 
in  "  aspirated  quality,"  little  is  drawn  in,  and  much  is  given  gut. 
In  this  faulty  style  of  utterance,  the  due  action  of  the  abdominal 
muscles  is  neglected,  and  a  forced  and  exhausting  action  of  the  tho- 
racic and  intercostal  muscles,  is  substituted,  causing  an  incessant 
sinking  and  collapsing  of  the  chest,  and  a  tone  of  voice  such  as 
belongs  to  sickness  and  pain.  This  mode  of  reading  or  speaking,  is 
very  prevalent,  and,  especially  among  the  weak  and  the  sednntary  : 
yet  no  habit  is  more  exhausting  to  the  vocal  organs,  more  injurious 
to  health,  or  more  destructive  of  life.  A  due  attention  to  the  full 
expansion  of  the  chest,  to  deep  inspiration,  and  to  the  vigorous 
action  of  the  abdominal  muscles,  is  the  chief  preventive  of  the  faulty 
habit  of  aspirated  utterance. 

3.  Another  bad  quality  of  voice  consists  in  what  is  termed 
guttural  tone,  —  a  mode  of  utterance  which  seems  to  make 
the  voice  issue  from  an  obstructed  throat. 

This  fault  is  of  a  twofold  character,  —  first,  the  soft,  choked  sound 
not  unusual  in  the  utterance  of  persons  inclined  to  fulness  of  habit 
and  corpulence,  —  second,  the  hard,  dry,  and  barking  voice,  which 
sometimes  characterizes  persons  of  an  opposite  habit  and  frame. 
Both  these  forms  of  vocal  sound,  are  disagreeable  in  their  effect ;  as 
they  indicate  a  want  of  ear,  coarseness  of  feeling,  or  an  undue 
ascendancy  of  the  animal  nature.  Such  properties  of  tone  are  not 
less  repulsive  and  objectionable,  in  reading  and  speaking,  than  in 
singing,  in  which  they  are  universally  regarded  as  intolerable  to  an 
ear  regulated  by  taste  and  feeling.  The  immediate  organic  cause 
ri  this  bad  quality  of  tone,  is  an  improper  pressure  of  the  muscles 
around  the  larynx,  and  the  root  of  the  tongue,  —  causing  the  voice, 
in  the  one  case,  apparently  to  issue  from  the  pharynx  or  swallow, 
instead  of  the  larynx,  and,  in  the  other,  to  originate  in  the  upper  part 
of  the  throat  only,  cut  off  from  all  communication  with  either  the 
chest  or  the  mouth.  Defective  taste  or  an  inadvertent  ear,  rather 
than  organic  necessity,  is  usually  the  origin  of  the  guttural  tone ; 
and  the  free  expansion  of  the  chest,  and  the  energetic  action  of  the 
abdominal  muscles,  with  the  habit  of  opening  the  mouth  freely, 
when  reading  or  speaking,  are  the  surest  means  of  avoiding  or 
removing  this  great  hindrance  to  purity  of  tone. 

4.  Another  fault  is  that  commonly  termed  nasal  tone, — 
which  makes  the  voice  sound  as  if  it  came  only  through  the 
no;je. 

Of  this  fault  it  is  unnecessary  to  say  much.  It  is  a  habit  of  utter 
ance  which  makes  the  reader  or  speaker  ridiculous  to  most  hearers, 
and  uncomfortable  to  all  ;  yet  it  is  one  which  is  very  prevalent, 
although  not. always  in  its  worst  forms.  The  chief  security  against 
itv  consists  in  the  habit  of  fully  expanding  the  chest,  which  aida 


FAULT   OF  "ORAL    TONE."  51 

depth  of  voice,  and  takes  off  the  wiry  sound  that  is  otherwise  im- 
parted to  the  tone.  Another  preventive,  of  still  greater  efficacy,  is, 
the  fiee  opening  of  the  mouth,  not  only  in  front,  but  in  the  back  part, 
by  raising  the  veil  of  the  palate,  as  is  mechanically  done  in  the  act 
of  coughing,  in  consequence  of  which  the  voice  escapes  in  its  proper 
direction,  instead  of  being  allowed  to  drift  with  force  against  the 
nasal  passages,  while  they  remain  partially  shut.  At  the  same  time, 
care  must  be  taken  not  to  raise  the  veil  of  the  palate  so  high  as  to 
stop  the  nasal  passage  entirely,  in  the  style  of  obstruction  caused  by 
a  cold,  producing  the  utterance  of  "  Cub  id,"  for  "  Come  in."  A 
due  degree  of  nasal  ring  is  one  of  the  component  elements  of  a  good 
voice. 

5.  Both  the  guttural  and  the  nasal  tones  are  combined  m 
the  utterance  of  some  readers  and  speakers ;  and  the  effect  is, 
of  course,  rendered,  in  such  cases,  doubly  injurious.  Some- 
times the  pectoral  tone  is  blended  with  the  other  two,  causing 
the  extreme  of  impure  tone,  in  all  its  bad  properties.  The 
effect  of  this  species  of  voice,  is  a  grunting  utterance,  resem- 
bling that  of  the  inferior  animals,  instead  of  the  clear  resonant 
tone  of  the  human  being. 

6.  There  is  still  another  fault  of  utterance,  which  is  yet 
more  prevalent  than  those  which  have  been  described.  It 
consists  in  what  may  be  termed  oral  tone.  It  is  the  slight 
ineffective  voice  of  indifference,  of  feebleness,  or  fatigue,  or 
the  mincing  tone  of  false  taste.  It  causes  the  vocal  sound  to 
issue  from  the  mouth,  in  a  style  which  seems  to  make  it  lose 
all  connection  with  the  throat  and  the  chest,  and  consequently 
to  lose  all  its  natural  depth  and  fulness. 

Without  these  last-mentioned  properties,  no  voice  can  ever  sound 
earnest  or  sincere  in  utterance.  Hence  we  observe  "oral"  tone 
always  ascribed  to  the  languid  beauty  or  the  trifling  fop.  —  Tr.e  full 
expansion  of  the  chest,  and  the  vigorous,  appulsive  action  of  the 
abdominal  muscles,  which  ensures  the  energetic  expulsion  of  the 
breath,  —  together  with  the  cultivation  of  the  lower  notes  of  the 
scale,  in  the  habits  of  utterance,  —  are  the  chief  correctives  of  the 
tendency  to  the  fault  of  the  slender  "  oral  "  tone.  The  musician,  it 
is  true,  denominates  purity  of  utterance  by  the  phrase  "  head-tone." 
But,  in  the  usages  of  music,  this  phrase  is  not  strict  or  exclusive,  in 
its  application  :  it  is  used  rather  in  contradistinction  to  the  false  and 
impure  tones  of  the  throat  and  the  chest,  —  the  guttural  and  the 
pectoral.  It  is  meant  to  designate  that  species  of  tone  which  rings 
clearly  in  the  cavity  of  the  head,  by  the  head  becoming,  as  it  were, 
a  sounding-board  to  reflect  the  voice  downward,  and  secure,  at  the 
eame  time,  the  resonance  of  the  chest,  blended  with  that  of  the  head. 


52  ORTHOPHONY. 

False  utterance,  or  impure  tone,  arises,  in  all  instances, 
from  the  exclusive  or  undue,  or,  it  may  be,  the  imperfect  use 
of  one  portion  of  the  vocal  organs,  as  is  intimated  in  the 
designation  of  "  pectoral,"  "  guttural,"  or  "  nasal  "  tone. l 
True  utterance  and  "  pure  tone,"  on  the  contrary,  employ  the 
whole  apparatus  of  voice,  in  one  consentaneous  act,  combining 
in  one  perfect  sphere  of  sound,  —  if  it  may  be  so  expressed, — 
the  depth  of  effect  produced  by  the  resonance  of  the  chest,  the 
force  -and  firmness  imparted  by  the  due  compression  of  the 
throat,  the  clear,  ringing  property,  caused  by  the  due  propor- 
tion of  nasal  effect,  and  the  softening  and  sweetening  influ- 
ence of  the  head  and  mouth. 

All  voices,  trained  to  this  appropriate  union  of  qualities,  become 
pleasing  to  the  ear,  and  produce  dignity  of  effect.  Genuine  cultiva- 
tion secures  these  properties,  as  habits  of  the  voice,  from  childhood 
upward,  or  restores  them  when,  through  inadvertency,  they  have 
been  lost.  But  to  preserve,  or  recover  them,  much  training  and 
much  preparatory  discipline  become  necessary.  Exercises,  such  as 
form  the  preliminary  steps  in  the  study  of  vocal  music,  are  among 
the  readiest  and  surest  means  of  attaining  that  skill  in  the  manage- 
ment and  control  of  the  organs  and  the  breath,  which  is  indispensa- 
ble to  purity  of  tone.  See,  for  this  purpose,  the  exercises  and  direc- 
tions by  Professor  Webb,  at  the  close  of  this  volume. 

"  Pure  tone  "  exists  in  two  forms,  "  subdued,"  and  "  moderate  " 
force  :  the  former  implying  the  repressing  power  of  an  emotion 
which  quiets  utterance ;  the  latter  being,  as  its  name  implies,  a 
medium  of  style. 

The  elocutionary  practice  best  adapted  to  the  formation  of  pure 
and  smooth  quality  of  voice,  in  the  "  subdued  "  form,  consists  prin- 
cipally in  careful  repetition  of  the  tabular  exercises  on  the  "  tonic  " 
elements  of  the  language,  and  the  utterance  of  syllables  and  words, 
containing  long  vowels,  and  in  the  Teading  and  recitation  of  passages 
of  poetry  marked  by  the  prevalence  of  the  expressive  tones  of  pathos, 
solemnity,  and  tranquillity,  as  here  exemplified. 

The  following  exercises  should  be  practised  with  the  closest 
attention  to  the  perfect  purity  of  vocal  sound,  as  associated 
with  the  spirit  of  deep-felt  but  gentle  emotion.  The  perfect 
tranquillity  and  regularity  of  the  breathing,  and  the  cautious 

1  These  terms  are  used  not  in  strict  propriety,  —  as  the  larynx  is  the  imme- 
diate source  of  all  vocal  sounds,  but  for  the  description  of  apparent  effects. 
Thy  sound  of  the  voice  is  made  up  of  a  note,  or  tone,  and  its  resonance.  The 
former  comes  directly  from  the  larynx ;  the  latter  from  the  adjoining  cavities 
•i  the  chest,  the  pharynx,  the  mouth,  the  nostrils,  and  the  interior  of  the  head. 


"pure  tone."  63 

and  sparing  emission  of  the  breath,  are  points  of  the  utmost 
moment  to  the  pure  and  perfectly  liquid  formation  of  voice. 
The  mode  of  utterance  required  in  the  following  exercises  is 
"  effuston," — not  ."  expulsion  "  or  "explosion," — a  gentle, 
continuous  emission  of  sound,  articulate,  but  very  soit ;  as  it 
always  is  in  the  utterance  of  subdued  and  chastened  emotion, 

EXAMPLES  OF  "  PURE  TONE." 

I.       "SUBDUED,"   Or   SOFTENED   FORCE. 

Example  1. — Pathos. 

From  the  Burial  of  Arnold. —  Willis* 

"  Tread  lightly,  comrades  !     Ye  have  laid 
His  dark  locks  on  his  brow, — 
Like  life,  save  deeper  light  and  shade,— 
We  '11  not  disturb  them  now ! 

"  Tread  lightly  !  for  't  Is  beautiful, 
That  blue-veined  eyelid's  sleep, 
Hiding  the  eye  death  left  so  dull;  — 
Its  slumber  we  will  keep ! " 

2. —  Solemnity. 

Soliloquy  of  Douglas. — Home. 

44  This  is  the  place, — the  centre  of  the  grove  ;— 
Here  stands  the  oak,  the  monarch  of  the  wood  ? 
How  sweet  and  solemn  is  this  midnight  scene ! 
The  silver  moon  unclouded  holds  her  way 
Through  skies  where  I  could  count  each  little  star; 
The  fanning  west  wind  scarcely  stirs  the  leaves ; 
The  river,  rushing  o'er  its  pebbled  bed, 
Imposes  silence  with  a  stilly  sound. 
In  such  a  place  as  this,  at  such  an  hour,— - 
If  ancestry  may  be  in  aught  believed, — 
Descending  spirits  have  conversed  with  man, 
And  told  the  secrets  of  the  world  unknown.* 
5* 


54  ORTHOPHONY. 

3.  —  Tranquillity. 

From  Lines  written  in  a  Highland  Glen.  —  Wilson. 

*'  Oh !  that  this  lovely  vale  were  mine  I 
Then,  from  glad  youth  to  calm  decline,    * 

My  years  would  gently  glide ; 
Hope  would  rejoice  in  endless  dreams, 
And  Memory's  oft-returning  gleams 

By  peace  be  sanctified !  " 

II.       "MODERATE"  FORCE. 

Perfect  purity  of  tone  is  indispensable  not  only  to  the  effect  of 
"  subdued"  force,  which  corresponds  to  the  gentle  style  of  passages 
marked  "piano"  in  music,  and  has  been  exemplified  in  the  preced- 
ing exercises,  but,  likewise,  to  that  degree  of  force  which  may  be 
termed  moderate,  in  contradistinction  to  the  energetic  style  of  decla- 
mation, the  bold  tones  of  impassioned  recitation,  or,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  suppressed  or  softened  utterance  of  subdued  emotion. 
"  Moderate  force  M  is  a  convenient  designation  of  the  usual  utterance 
of  didactic  sentiment,  in  the  form  of  essays  or  scientific  and  literary 
discourses,  doctrinal  and  practical  sermons,  and  other  forms  of 
address,  not  distinguished  by  vivid  narration,  graphic  description,  or 
impassioned  feeling. 

The  style  of  utterance  in  the  "  moderate  "  force  of  "  pure 
tone,"  is  gentle  "  expulsion,"  with  a  clear  "  radical  move- 
ment," which  keeps  it  from  subsiding  into  mere  "effusion," 
and  yet  does  not  extend  to  "  explosion."  The  degree  of 
force  implied  in  this  technical  use  of  the  word  "  moderate,"  is 
merely  that  which  audible  utterance,  distinct  articulation,  and 
intelligible  expression,  demand  for  the  ordinary  purposes  of 
public  speaking,  in  those  forms  which  address  themselves  to 
the  understanding  rather  than  the  heart,  and  in  which  the 
speaker's  great  object  in  communication,  is  to  be  under' 
stood,  rather  than  to  be  felt.  "  Pure  tone "  is,  in  these  cir- 
cumstances, of  the  utmost  value  to  easy,  distinct,  and  appro- 
priate utterance ;  and  any  departure  from  it  not  only  jars 
upon  the  ear,  but  impairs  the  clearness  of  the  speaker's  artic- 
ulation, and  detracts  from  the  proper  dignity  of  public 
address, — an  exercise  usually  implying  culture  and  taste  on 
the  part  of  the  speaker. 


55 

Another  consideration  of  great  moment,  in  connection  with  thia 
branch  of  elocution,  is  the  unspeakable  advantage  of  "  pure  tone," 
as  a  relief  to  the  organs  of  the  reader  or  speaker.  The  voice  which 
obeys  the  laws  of  "  pure  tone,"  easily  fills  a  vast  space.  The 
organic  act  becomes,  in  such  cases,  a  spontaneous  emission  of  sound, 
—  like  the  act  of  singing,  when  appropriately  performed,  —  free 
from  every  jarring,  agitating,  irregular  impulse,  and  therefore  not 
attended  with  labor  or  fatigue.  The  skilful  public  speaker,  like  the 
skilful  singer,  gives  forth  his  voice  in  those  clear,  smooth,  and  pure 
tones  which  make  the  function  of  utterance  a  pleasure  and  not  a 
pain,  and  which  make  organic  exertion  a  salutary  instead  of  an  un- 
healthful  process.  It  is  as  true  of  speech  as  of*  any  other  muscular 
process,  that  appropriate  practice  gives  "  the  sleight "  of  execution, 
in  consequence  of  which,  powerful  and  long-sustained  exertion  is 
rendered  an  easy  task. 

"  Moderate  force,"  as  a  technical  designation  in  elocution, 
exhibits  pure  tone  in  the  following  gradations. 

1.  — "Grave"  Style. 
The  "grave"  style  differs  from  the  "solemn"  in  the  fact 
that  the  former  is  not  marked  by  "  effusive"  or  "  subdued " 
force,  but  on  the  contrary,  assumes  something  of  the  "  expul- 
sive "  tone  of  firmness  and  authority,  although  in  a  gentle  and 
moderate  style.  The  "  grave  "  style  differs  farther  from  the 
*  solemn,"  in  not  descending  to  so  low  a  pitch, — as  solemnity 
is  not  so  deep-toned  in  its  utterance  as  aive,  nor  awe  so  deep 
as  horror. 

The  disturbing  cause  wThich  usually  vitiates  the  purity  of  tone  in 
i '  grave  "  style,  is  a  false,  hollow,  pectoral  voice,  which  merely 
murmurs  in  the  chest,  without  coming  forth  impressively  to  the  ear. 
The  deep  effect  of  solemnity,  or  the  sepulchral  tone  of  horror,  is,  in 
this  way,  sometimes  produced  instead  of  the  moderate  character  of  a 
merely  "  grave  "  utterance. 

The  learner,  after  having  practised  the  example  of  "  grave  " 
style,  should  repeat,  in  that  tone,  all  the  "tonic"  elements, — 
then,  a  selection  from  the  tabular  exercises  on  words ;  so  as  to 
acquire  a  perfect  command  of  the  force  and  pitch  of  "  grave  " 
style,  as  differing  from  the  "  solemn,"  on  the  one  hand,  and 
from  the  "  serious,"  on  the  other. 

Example. 

Eternity  of  God. —  Greenwood. 

"  The  Throne  of  Eternity  is  a  throne  of  mercy  and  love 


66  ORTHOPHONY. 

God  has  permitted  and  invited  us  to  repose  ourselves  and  om 
hopes  on  that  which  alone  is  everlasting  and  unchangeable. 
We  shall  shortly  finish  our  allotted  time  on  earth,  even  if  it 
should  be  unusually  prolonged.  We  shall  leave  behind  us 
aL  which  is  now  familiar  and  beloved ;  and  a  world  of  other 
days  and  other  men  will  be  entirely  ignorant  that  once  we 
lived.  But  the  same  unalterable  Being  will  still  preside  over 
the  universe,  through  all  its  changes ;  and  from  his  remem- 
brance we  shall  never  be  blotted.  We  can  never  be  where 
He  is  not,  nor  where  he  sees  and  loves  and  upholds  us  not. 
He  is  our  Father  and  our  God  forever.  He  takes  us  from 
earth,  that  He  may  lead  us  to  heaven,  that  He  may  refine  our 
nature  from  all  its  principles  of  corruption,  share  with  us  His 
own  immortality,  admit  us  to  His  everlasting  habitation,  and 
crown  us  with  His  eternity. " 

2.— "Serious"  Style. 
This  form  of  utterance  differs  from  the  preceding,  in  not 
possessing  so  low  a  pitch.  It  is  a  still  milder  form  of  the 
same  general  effect.  The  fault  usually  exhibited  in  "  seri- 
ous "  style,  is  nearly  the  same  with  that  mentioned  above  :  it 
substitutes  the  deep  and  full-toned  notes  of  the  "  grave  "  style 
for  the  moderate  and  less-marked  character  of  the  merely 
"  serious."  The  purity  of  tone,  in  this  style,  is  usually 
marred  by  the  same  cause  as  in  the  preceding  instance  of  the 
11  grave "  utterance.  The  beauty  and  gentleness  of  the  tone 
of  serious  feeling,  are  thus  lost ;  and  the  "  expression "  is 
untrue  to  the  intended  effect. 

The  following  example  requires  attention  and  careful  practice,  to 
preserve  its  exact  pitch  and  appropriate  force. 

When  the  "  serious"  tone  has  come  fully  under  the  stu- 
dent's command,  by  practice  on  the  exercise  subjoined,  the 
-epetition  of  the  elements,  syllables,  and  words,  will  serve  to 
fix  it  definitely  in  the  memory. 

Example. 
The  Beauty  of  Virtue.  —  Blair. 
"There   is   no  virtue   without  a  characteristic  beauty  to 


fc<*CJRE  tone":  — cc animated"  style.  57 

make  it  particularly  loved  of  the  good,  and  to  make  the  bad 
ashamed  of  their  neglect  of  it.  To  do  what  is  right,  argues 
superior  taste  as  well  as  morals ;  and  those  whose  practice  is 
evil,  feel  an  inferiority  of  intellectual  power  and  enjoyment, 
even  where  they  take  no  concern  for  a  principle. 

"  Doing  well  has  something  more  in  it  than  the  fulfilling 
of  a  duty.  It  is  the  cause  of  a  just  sense  of  elevation  of 
character;  it  clears  and  strengthens  the  spirits;  it  gives 
higher  reaches  of  thought ;  it  widens  our  benevolence,  and 
makes  the  current  of  our  peculiar  affections  swift  and  deep." 

3. — "Animated"  or  Lively 9  Style. 

This  mode  of  voice  differs,  in  three  respects,  from  the 
"  serious :"  it  has  more  force,  a  higher  pitch,  and  a  quicker 
movement ;  and  the  comparatively  greater  force  renders  the 
purity  of  the  tone  still  more  conspicuous. 

The  common  fault,  as  regards  this  style,  is  a  dull  or  deadened 
tone,  instead  of  that  of  animation.  The  dulness  of  the  objectionable 
tone,  arises  from  keeping  the  pitch  as  low,  perhaps,  as  that  of  the 
"  serious"  tone,  from  withholding  the  due  force  of  animated  utter- 
ance, and  from  allowing  the  voice  to  move  too  slowly.  Along  with 
these  faults  usually  goes  an  impure,  husky  quality  of  voice,  instead 
of  the  clear  resonant  sound  which  belongs  to  animation  of  manner. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  expatiate  on  the  effects,  of  a  style  so  obviously 
bad  as  that  of  dulness  and  monotony.  In  consequence  of  indulging 
this  habit,  the  school-boy  reads  with  the  tone  of  apparent  reluctance, 
indifference,  or  stupor,  and  the  man  speaks  as  if  his  intention  wTere 
to  lull  his  audience  to  sleep.  The  origin  of  this  false  tone  is  to  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  elementary  teachers  too  generally  permit  read- 
ing to  be  dull  work,  and  that  reading-books  abound  in  dull  or  unintel- 
ligible lessons.  The  tones  of  life  and  interest,  are  not  cultivated  and 
cherished  at  the  period  when  the  style  of  the  voice  is  forming  ;  and 
neglected  habit  is  attended,  here,  as  elsewhere,  with  every  evil :  the 
voice  is  killed  ;  the  spirits  are  quenched :  and  the  reader  or  speaker 
has  apparently  neither  will  nor*power  to  awaken  his  own  soul  to  per- 
ception and  feeiing,  nor  to  arouse  the  hearts  of  others. 

The  following  example  should  be  attentively  practised  with  refer- 
ence to  lively  and  spirited  effect. 

The  exercise  in  "animated"  utterance  should  be  ex- 
tended, as  a  matter  of  practice,  to  the  elementary  sounds,  and 
to  the  repetition  of  the  tables  of  words  as  far,  and  as  often,  as 
individuals  or  classes  may  seem  to  require. 


68  ORTHOPHONY. 

Example. 
Animal  Happiness. — Paley. 

"  The  air,  the  earth,  the  water,  teem  with  delighted  exist- 
ence. In  a  spring  noon,  or  a  summer  evening,  on  which- 
ever side  we  turn  our  eyes,  myriads  of  happy  beings  crowd 
upon  our  view.  *  The  insect  youth  are  on  the  wing. 
Swarms  of  new-born  flies  are  trying  their  pinions  in  the  air. 
Their  sportive  motions,  their  gratuitous  activity,  their  con- 
tinual change  of  place,  without  use  or  purpose,  testify  their 
joy,  and  the  exultation  which  they  feel  in  their  lately  discov- 
ered faculties." 

4. — "Gay"  or  Brisk,  Style. 

This  mode  of  utterance  has  all  the  characteristics  of  the 
"animated"  style,  carried  to  a  greater  extent.  The  tone  to 
which  we  now  refer,  being  that  of  exhilarated  feeling,  its 
pitch  is  higher,  its  force  is  greater,  and  its  "movement" 
quicker  than  that  of  an  utterance,  which,  as  in  the  preceding 
instance,  does  not  go  beyond  the  style  of  animation  or  liveli- 
ness, merely. 

Gaiety  and  vividness  of  expression,  are,  in  their  proper  sphere,  as 
important  to  appropriate  effect  in  reading,  as  any  of  the  opposite 
qualities  of  seriousness  and  gravity  are  in  theirs.  We  can  never, 
without  these  properties  of  voice,  give  natural  expression  to  many 
of  the  most  pleasing  forms  of  composition,  —  to  such,  in  particular, 
as  derive  their  power  over  sympathy,  from  their  presenting  to  us 
what  the  poet  has  termed  "  the  gayest,  happiest  attitude  of  things," 
or  from  the  glowing  and  exhilarating  colors  in  which  language  some- 
times delights  to  invest  the  forms  of  thought.  Dramatic  scenes, 
sketches  of  life  and  manners,  vivid  delineations  of  character,  all 
demand  the  utterance  of  exhilarated  emotion.  Unaided  by  the  effect 
of  such  expression,  the  finest  compositions  fall  flat  and  dead  upor  the 
ear,  and  leave  our  feelings  unmoved  or  disappointed. 

The  lifeless  routine  of  school  habit,  is  too  g-enerally  the  ear.y 
cause  of  the  formation  of  such  tones ;  and  the  chief  expedient  for 
removing  them,  is  to  enter,  with  full  life  and  spirit,  into  the  senti- 
ments and  emotions  which  we  utter  in  reading. 

The  practice  of  the  following  and  similar  examples,  should  be 
carefully  watched,  with  a  view  to  this  end  ;  and  the  exercise  of  brisk 
and  exhilarated  utterance,  should  be  repeatedly  practised  on  the 
elements,  syllables,  and  words  contained  in  the  tables,  as  a  means  of 
fixing  definitely  and  permanently  in  the  ear  the  requisite  properties 
of  voice.    The  learner  is  imperfect  in  practice,  as  long  as  there 


'pure   tone":  u  humorous"  style.  59 

remains  perceptible  in  his  utterance,  the  least  approach  to  the  partial 
impurity  of  tone  arising  from  the  languid  drawling  usually  connected 
with  "  nasal  and  guttural  qualities,"  the  feeble  thinness  of  a  mere 
"oral"  tone,  or  the  hollow  murmur  of  the  "pectoral"  style.  A 
clear  and  perfectly  pure,  ringing  voice,  corresponding  to  whai  the 
musician  terms  "head  tone,"  is  the  standard  of  practice  in  this 
branch  of  elocution. 


v 


Example. 

Rural  Holiday.  —  Milton. 

1  Sometimes,  with  secure  delight, 
The  upland  hamlets  will  invite, 
When  the  merry  bells  ring  round, 
And  the  jocund  rebecs  sound, 
To  many  a  youth  and  many  a  maid, 
Dancing  in  the  checkered  shade, 
When»young-and  old  come  forth  to  play, 
On  a  sunshine  holiday, 
Till  the  livelong  daylight  fail." 

5. — "Humorous ,"  or  Plaijful,  Style. 

Perfect  purity  of  tone  is  indispensable  to  the  utterance  of  fanciful 
and  humorous  emotion,  unless  in  the  few  instances  in  which,  foi 
mimetic  or  enhanced  effect,  a  peculiar  and  characteristic  voice  is  as- 
sumed, on  purpose.  Humor,  in  its  genuine  expression,  not  only 
enlivens  and  kindles  tone,  but  seems  as  it  were  to  melt  it,  and  make 
it  flow  into  the  ear  and  the  heart,  as  the  full,  clear,  sparkling  stream 
gushes  into  the  reservoir.  The  playful  and  the  mirthful  style  of 
utterance,  seems  to  be  voice  let  loose  from  all  restraints  which  would 
impose  upon  it  any  rigidness,  dryness,  or  hardness  of  sound. 

Humor  goes  beyond  mere  gaiety  or  exhilaration,  in  the 
unbounded  scope  which  it  gives  to  the  voice :  its  tones  are 
higher,  louder,  and  quicker  in  "  movement." 

Humor  excels  even  gaiety,  in  effusive  purity  of  tone,  which  seema 
to  come  ringing  and  full  from  the  heart,  with  all  the  resonance  of 
head  and  chest  combined,  —  "  flooding,"  as  the  poet  says  of  the  sky- 
lark, "  the  very  air  with  sound." 

Destitute  of  such  utterance,  the  reading  of  some  of  the  finest  pas- 
sages of  Shakspeare,  of  Scott,  or  of  Irving,  becomes  cold  and  torpid, 
or  excites  only  aversion  and  disgust.  The  lighter  strains  of  Cowper, 
and  innumerable  passages  in  all  the  truest  and  best  of  our  poets, 
demand  this  highest  form  of  mirthful  utterance. 

The  faults  usually  exemplified  in  regard  to  this  tone,  are  similar  to 
those  which  were  mentioned  in  speaking  of  the  gay  and  brisk  style 


60  ORTHOPHONY. 

of  expression,  and  are  owing  principally  to  the  causes  then  indicate  i, 
The  remedy  must  also  be  of  the  same  description  with  that  whK-k 
was  then  suggested.  Humor  demands,  however,  not  a  mere  fulne&i 
but  an  actual  exuberance  and  overflow  of  feeling,  in  order  to  give  it 
expression.  An  approach  to  the  style  of  laughter,  should  be  percep 
tible  in  the  quality  with  which  it  inspires  the  voice. 

The  following  exercises  should  be  practised  with  all  the 
playful,  half-laughing  style  of  voice,  which  naturally  belongs 
to  this  vivid  effusion  of  blended  humor  and  fancy.  The 
practice  of  the  elements,  in  the  same  style,  in  sounds,  and 
words,  will  be  of  the  greatest  service  for  imparting  the  en- 
tire and  free  command  of  the  appropriate  tone  of  humor ;  and 
even  a  frequent  repetition  of  the  act  of  laughter  will  be  found 
highly  useful,  as  a  preparative  for  this  style  of  expression,  by 
suggesting  and  infusing  the  perfect  purity  of  tone  which 
naturally  belongs  to  hearty  and  joyous  emotion. 

Example. 

Merctjtio's  Description  of  Queen  Mab. —  ShaJcspeare. 

"  Oh !   then,  I  see  queen  Mab  hath  been  with  you. 

She  comes 
In  shape  no  bigger  than  an  agate  stone, 
On  the  forefinger  of  an  alderman, 
Drawn  by  a  team  of  little  atomies 
Athwart  men's  noses,  as  they  lie  asleep ; 
Her  wagon-spokes  made  of  long  spinners'  legs } 
The  cover,  of  the  wings  of  grasshoppers ; 
The  traces,  of  the  smallest  spider's  web, 
The  collars,  of  the  moonshine's  watery  beams : 
Her  whip  of  cricket's  bone ;  the  lash  of  film ; 
Her  wragoner,  a  small  gray-coated  gnat ; 
Her  chariot  is  an  empty  hazel-nut, 
Made  by  the  joiner  squirrel,  or  old  grub, 
Time  out  of  mind  the  fairies'  coachmakers. 
And  in  this  state  she  gallops,  night  by  night, 
Through  lovers'  brains,  and  then  they  dream  of  love  ■ 
O'er  lawyers'  fingers,  who  straight  dream  on  fees; 
O'ei  ladies'  lips,  who  straight  on  kisses  dream : 


61 

Sometimes  she  gallops  o'er  a  courtier's  nose, 
And  then  dreams  he  of  smelling  out  a  suit; 
And  sometimes  comes  she  with  a  tithe-pig's  tail, 
Tickling  a  parson's  nose,  as  'a  lies  asleep, 
Then  dreams  he  of  another  benefice  : 
Sometimes  she  driveth  o'er  a  soldier's  neck, 
And  then  dreams  he  of  cutting  foreign  throats, 
Of  breaches,  ambuscadoes,  Spanish  blades, 
Of  healths  five  fathom  deep :  and  then  anon 
Drums  in  his  ear ;  at  which  he  starts  and  wakes ; 
And,  being  thus  frighted,  swears  a  prayer  or  two, 
And  sleeps  again." 

III.     "sustained"  force. 
Calling. 
A  call  is  the  highest  and  intensest  form  of  "  pure  tone," 
and,  when  extended  to  a  vast  distance,  becomes,  it  is  univer- 
sally known,  similar  to  music,  in  the  style  of  its  utterance. 

A  high  note  is  required,  in  order  to  reach  to  remote  distance  ;  and 
perfect  purity  of  tone,  is  also  indispensable,  as  a  condition  of  the  easy 
emission  of  the  prodigious  force  of  voice  which  calling  demands,  and 
which,  in  continuous  effort,  it  must  sustain.  It  is  the  "  maximum" 
or  highest  degree,  of  vocal  force.  But  if  unaccompanied  by  perfectly 
pure  quality  of  sound,  it  pains  and  injures  the  organs.  Its  true 
mode  is  a  long-sustained  and  exceedingly  powerful  singing  tone.  In 
this  form,  its  use  in  strengthening  the  organs,  and  giving  firmness, 
compactness,  and  clearness  to  the  voice,  is  very  great. 

The  student,  in  practising  the  call,  as  a  vocal  exercise, 
must  see  to  it  that  the  utmost  purity  of  tone  is  kept  up ;  as 
the  exercise  will  otherwise  be  injurious.  The  more  attentive 
he  is  to  sing  his  words,  in  such  exercises,  the  more  easy  is 
the  effort;  and  the  more  salutary  the  result.  The  style  of 
utterance,  in  this  exercise,  is  that  of  vigorous,  sustained,  and 
intense  "effusion"  but  should  never  become  abruptly  "  explo* 
sive" 

The  following  example  should  be  practised  on  the  scale  indicated, 
not  on  the  stage,  but  in  historical  fact,  as  when  the  herald  stood  on 
the  plain,  at  such  a  distance  as  to  be  out  of  bow-shot,  and  called  out 
his  message,  so  as  to  be  fully  audible  and  distinctly  intelligible  to  the 
listeners  on  the  distant  city-wall. 
6 


J 


62  ORTHOPHONY. 

The  elementary  tables  of  sounds,  and  words,  should  bo 
repeatedly  practised,  in  the  form  of  calling,  till  the  student 
can  command  a  full,  clear,  ringing,  and  musical  call,  or  any 
form  of  soutiI  which  admits  this  function  of  the  voice. 

Example, 

The  Herald's  Call. —  Skakspeare. 

"  .Rejoice,  you  men  of  Angiers  !  ring  your  be^JS . 
King  John,  your  king  and  England's,  doth  approach'— 
Open  your  gates,  and  give  the  victors  way ! " 

14  OROTUND   QUALITY." 

"  Pure  tone  "  is  properly  the  perfection  of  vocal  sound  executed 
by  human  organs,  in  the  form  of  music  or  of  speech,  in  unimpas- 
sioned  expression.  Purity,  as  a  quality  of  voice  in  utterance,  is,  so 
to  speak,  the  investing  property  of  the  sounds  in  which  gentle 
and  moderate  emotions  are  conveyed  to  the  ear.  But  this  quality 
does  not  extend  beyond  the  limits  of  solemnity,  on  the  one 
hand,  or  of  gaiety  and  humor,  on  the  other.  Its  boldest  effect  is 
exhibited,  as  already  mentioned,  in  the  mechanical  act  of  calling, 
which,  although,  sometimes  accompanied  by  intense  emotion,  is  not, 
by  any  means,  necessarily  so  attended.  The  call  may  be  uttered,  as 
among  laborers  at  work,  for  a  merely  mechanical  purpose  of  conven- 
ience. 

But  when  we  advance  in  the  gradations  of  feeling,  and  come  to 
the  stage  of  impassioned  utterance,  and,  more  particularly,  to  that  in 
which  deep  and  forcible  emotions  are  combined,  mere  purity  of  tone 
is  not  adequate  to  the  effect  which  is  to  be  produced  on  the  ear.  In 
the  utterance  of  contemplative  repose,  nothing  beyond  pure  quality 
of  voice  is  needed,  to  give  expression  to  feeling  so  gentle  in  its  mood. 
Energy  would,  in  such  circumstances,  seem  violence :  it  would  dis- 
turb the  quiet  of  the  scene. 

Not  so  when  passion  rouses  or  inspires  the  soul.  The  intense 
excitement  of  feeling  then  demands  that  volume  and  force  should  pre- 
dominate in  expression.  Purity  of  tone  must,  indeed,  even  in  such 
cases,  be  preserved,  to  constitute  that  utterance  which,  while  it 
assumes  an  intense  energy,  still  indicates,  in  the  pure  quality  of  the 
vocal  sound,  the  delight  which  the  soul  feels  in  the  consciousness  of 
powerful  action.  But  the  properties  of  ^voice  which,  in  these  ciiCLin- 
stances,  predominate  in  the  utterance,  and  fall  most  impressively  on 
the  ear,  are  volume  and  energy,  combined  with  ample  resonance. 

We  have  a  striking  example  of  the  species  of  voice  under  consid- 
eration, in  the  imagined  rallying-shout  of  Satan  to  his  fallen  host, 
while  they  lie  weltering  on  the  infernal  lake,  when,  —  in  the  colossal 
image  of  the  poet,  —  "  he  called  so  loud,  that  all  the  hollow  deep  of 
helJ  resounded :" 


"orotund"  quality.  G3 

"  Princes  !  potentates ! " 

"  Awake  !  arise  !  or  be  forever  fallen ! ' 

Tlie  human  voice,  here  superadding"  intense  emotion  to  the  mere 
physical  act  of  shouting  and  calling,  becomes,  as  it  were,  translated 
ro  a  sphere  of  superhuman  force  and  grandeur. 

In  the  "orotund  quality''  of  utterance,  volume  and  purity 
of  tone,  to  the  greatest  extent  of  the  one,  and  the  highest  per- 
fection of  the  other,  are  blended  in  one  vast  sphere  of  sound, 
expressive  of  the  utmost  depth,  intensity,  and  sublimity  of 
emotion,  and  attended  by  the  fullest  resonance  of  the  pharynx 
and  the  chest,  as  well  as  the  larynx. 

The  voice,  in  the  above  case,  inspired,  expanded,  and  impelled,  by 
the  huge  conception  of  the  poet's  imagination,  becomes  gigantic  iri 
its  utterance.  The  force  of  the  mental  associations,  imparts  the  im- 
pulsive energy,  —  and  their  conscious  sublimity  the  "  pure  tone,"  o* 
the  highest  joy.  Blend  these  two  properties,  and  the  result  is  what 
Dr.  Rush  has  so  appropriately  termed  "  orotund"1  utterance. 

The  quality  of  voice  to  which  we  now  refer,  is  mentioned 
by  Dr.  Rush  as  the  highest  perfection  of  the  cultivated  utter- 
ance of  the  public  speaker.  It  is  also  justly  regarded  by  him 
as  the  natural  language  of  the  highest  species  of  emotion.  It 
characterizes  the  vivid  utterance  of  children,  in  their  tones  of 
love,  and  joy,  and  ecstasy.  It  belongs  to  the  audible  expres- 
sion of  masculine  courage,  energy,  delight,  admiration,  and  to 
the  deliberate  language  of  vengeance,  as  distinguished  from 
the  aspirated  and  suffocated  voice  of  anger  and  rage. 

In  the  furious  excitement  of  anger,  however,  which  breathes  a 
fiendish  delight  in  the  very  consciousness  of  the  destructive  passion, 
the  "  orotund"  will  be  found  to  return  in  the  utterance,  and  predom- 
inate even  in  the  scream  or  yell  of  the  wildest  frenzy  of  excitement 

The  property  of  voice  defined  by  the  term  "  orotund  * 
exists,  also,  in  certain  physical  and  mechanical  relations  of 
the  corporeal  organs.  Thus,  we  hear  it  in  the  audible  func- 
tions of  yawning,  coughing,  and  laughing;  all  of  which,  when 
forcibly  performed,  are  attended  with  a  sudden  and  powerful 

> l  From  the  Latin  phrase  "  ore  roiundo,"  used  by  the  poet  Horace,  in  al'u- 
sion  to  the  round  and  full  utterance  and  flowing1-  eloquence  of  the  Greeks. 


64  ORTHOPHONY. 

expansion  of  the  organic  parts,  and  a  ringing  fulness,  round 
ness,  and  smoothness  of  sound.1 

"Orotund"  quality  may,  in  one  of  its  forms,  (the  shout,)  be 
regarded  as  the  maximum  of  "  pure  tone,"  united  with  the  mos* 
powerful  resonance  of  the  pharynx.  Like  the  pure  tone,  however, 
it  admits  of  degrees ;  and  we  find  it  existing,  according  to  the  greater 
or  less  intensity  of  emotion,  in  the  different  forms  of  "effusive," 
"expulsive,"  and  "explosive,"  force.  In  other  cases,  it  partakes 
of  "  aspiration,' '  being  rendered  "  impure,"  by  violence  of  emotion 
and  for^e  of  breath.  We  proceed  to  the  exemplification  of  the  first 
of  the  above  gradations. 

I.       "  EFFUSIVE    OROTUND." 

This  designation  is  applied  to  that  species  of  utterance  in 
which  the  voice  is  not  sent  forth  from  the  organs  by  any 
obvious  voluntary  expulsion,  but  is  rather  suffered  to  effuse 
itself  from  the  mouth  into  the  surrounding  air.  It  resembles 
the  insensible  and  unconscious  act  of  tranquil  breathing,  as 
contrasted  with  the  effort  of  panting.  But  though  perfectly 
gentle  in  its  formation,  and  passing  but  little  beyond  the 
limits  of  merely  "  pure  tone,"  it  still  obviously  extends  beyond 
that  form  of  voice,  and  assumes  a  somewhat  different  charac- 
ter. "  Pure  tone,"  in  its  "  effusive"  form,  is  executed  princi- 
pally by  the  full  expansion  of  the  chest,  a  large  inhalation 
but  a  very  gentle  and  limited  expiration ;  whilst  "  effusive 
orotund"  gives  a  very  free  egress  to  the  breath,  and,  by  its 
larger  volume  of  sound,  and  greater  emissive  force,  uses 
more  breath,  in  the  production  of  sound.  "  Effusive  pure 
tone  "  is  obtained  chiefly  by  skilful  withholding  of  the  breath, 
and  using  the  larynx  so  gently  and  so  skilfully,  that 
every  particle  of  air  passing  through  it,  is  converted  into 
sound.  "  Effusive  orotund"  demands  a  wider  opening  of  tho 
organs,  and  a  freer  and  firmer  use  of  them,  so  as  to  produce  a 
bolder  and  rounder  tone.  It  resembles,  however,  in  its  style, 
the  "  effusive"  function  of  "  pure  tone,"  in  its  gentle  and  su3 
lained  swell  of  utterance,  as  contrasted  with  the  "  expulsive' 
and  "  explosive"  forms  of  the  "  orotund." 

1  For  a  more  minute  description  of"  orotund  "  quality,  we  refer  to  the  work 
of  Dr.  Rush. 


"effusive  orotund."  65 

Ihe  nwodes  of  feeling  or  emotion  which  are  expressed  by 
u  effusive  orotund  voice,"  are  pathos, — when  mingled  with 
grandeur  and  sublimity,  —  and  solemnity  and  reverence,  when 
expressed  iu  similar  circumstances. — Pathos,  divested  of 
grandeur,  subsides  into  "  pure  tone,"  merely.  The  same 
result  takes  place  in  the  utterance  of  solemnity,  if  unaccom- 
panied by  sublimity.  But  reverence,  always  implying  gran- 
deur or  elevation  in  its  source,  is  uniformly  uttered  by  the 
"orotund"  voice,  though  from  the  tranquillity, and  the  partial 
awe,  with  which  it  is  attended,  its  force  does  not  go  beyond 
the  "  effusive"  form, — as  maybe  observed  in  the  appropriate 
tone  of  adoration,  uttered  in  the  exercise  of  devotion. 

Analysis  thus  shows  us  the  value  of  the  "  orotund,"  as  imparting 
dignity  of  effect  to  utterance,  even  in  its  gentler  moods.  It  teaches 
us,  moreover,  the  inefficacy  or  the  inappropriateness  of  all  utterance 
which,  in  giving  forth  the  language  of  noble  and  inspiring  emotion, 
falls  short  of  "  orotund  "  quality,  and  reduces  the  style  of  voice  to 
that  of  ordinary  or  common-place  topics.  Gray's  Elegy,  for  exam- 
ple, if  read  without  "  orotund,"  becomes  feeble  and  trite,  in  its  style  ; 
Milton's  Paradise  Lost,  if  so  read,  becomes  dry  and  flat ;  and  the  lan- 
guage of  devotion,  uttered  in  the  same  defective  style,  in  prayer,  or 
in  psalms  and  hymns,  becomes  irreverent  in  its  effect. 

The  mode  of  securing  the  advantages  of  "  orotund  "  utterance,  is, 
in  the  first  place,  to  give  up  the  whole  soul  to  the  feeling  of  what  is 
read  or  spoken  in  the  language  of  grave  and  sublime  emotion.  The 
mere  superficial  impression  of  a  sentiment,  is  not  adequate  to  the 
effects  of  genuine  and  inspiring  expression.  The  reader  or  speaker 
must  be  so  deeply  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  what  he  utters,  that  his 
heart  overflows  with  it,  and  thus  inspires  and  attunes  his  organs  to 
the  full  vividness  of  expressive  action.  The  ample  and  noble  effect 
of  "  orotund"  utterance,  can  never  be  acquired  through  the  clearest 
apprehension  of  a  sentiment  by  the  understanding  merely  :  the  heart 
must  swell  with  the  feeling ;  and  the  stream  of  emotion  must  gush 
over  the  whole  man.  Nor  is  it  sufficient  that  the  reader's  feeling  bo 
commensurate  with  the  mere  personal  impression  of  a  sentiment : 
genuine  expression  demands  such  a  surplus,  as  it  were,  of  emotion 
that  it  is  sufficient  to  overflow  the  reader's  own  being,  and  impel  and 
cnrrv  on  with  it  the  sympathies  of  his  audience.  The  reader  must 
himself  feel  the  inspiration  of  number  enkindling  his  personal  emo- 
tion, and  elevating  and  expanding  his  being,  for  the  full  outpouring 
of  expression. 

But  few  readers  seem  fully  to  feel  the  difference  between  the  quiet 
and  passive  state  in  which  we  sit  and  give  up  our  imagination  to  be 
impressed  by  the  language  of  an  author,  and  the  communicative  and 
active  energy  requisite  to  stamp  even  such  an  impression  on  the 
minds  of  otheis.     In  the  former  case,  we  are  but  involuntary,  or,  at 


66  ORTHOPHONY. 

the  most,  consentaneous  recipients:  in  the  latter,  we  are  tie  positive 
and  voluntary  creators  of  effect. 

The  deep  and  full  feeling  of  an  author's  sentiment,  then,  is  the 
natural  preliminary  to  expressive  effect  and  consequent  "  orotund." 
But,  from  the  imperfections  of  early  culture,  attention  is,  in  most 
cases,  demanded,  at  the  same  time,  to  the  state  and  functions  of  the 
organs. 

The  effect  of  "  effusive  orotund,"  on  the  voice,  is  identical  in  its 
quality  with  the  soft,  but  round  and  deep  tone  of  a  prolonged  yawn, 
—  a  form  of  voice  which  comes,  obviously,  from  the  peculiarly  wide 
and  free  position  of  the  organs  in  that  act.  Hence  arises  the  sugges- 
tion to  repeat  voluntarily  the  effort  of  loud  and  prolonged  yawning, 
and  watch  its  peculiar  effect  on  the  sound  of  the  voice,  and  repeat 
and  prolong  the  sound  in  the  form  of  the  yawn,  till  it  can  be  executed 
at  pleasure. 

"Effusive  orotund"  is,  in  one  view,  nothing  else  than 
"  pure  tone  "  rendered  intense  and  ample  in  volume,  by  vigo- 
rous emission  of  breath,  and  by  laryngial  quality,  or  the  full 
deep  ringing  effect  of  a  free  use  of  the  larynx,  and  an  ample 
expansion  of  the  pharynx.  The  same  position  and  move- 
ments of  the  organs,  therefore,  are  used  in  the  one,  as  in  the 
other. 

The  larynx  operates  in  both  with  the  consentaneous  enlargement 
of  the  pharynx,  the  elevation  of  the  veil  of  the  palate,  and  the  exactly^ 
balanced  use  of  the  nasal  passage,  —  a  style  in  which  it  is  neither  too 
much  compressed,  nor  too  widely  opened,  but  exerted  in  the  mode 
required  to  produce  what  musicians  term  "  head  tone." 

The  cultivation  of  vocal  music,  in  the  form  of  singing  bass,  is  one 
of  the  most  effectual  means  of  securing  the  property  of  "  effusive 
orotund"  utterance,  in  reading  and  speaking.  The  following,  and 
similar  examples,  together  with  the  tabular  elements,  should  be 
attentively  and  repeatedly  practised,  till  the  full,  clear,  deep  and 
perfect  resonance  of  the  "  orotund  "  quality  of  voice,  is  perfectly  at 
command. 

I.     Examples  of  "Effusive  Orotund." 

1.   Pathos  and  Gloom>  or  Melancholy  mingled  with  Gran* 
deur.1 
From  Gray's  Elegy. 
"  The  curfew  tolls, — the  knell  of  parting  day; 
The  lowing  herd  winds  slowly  o'er  the  lea ; 

1  Pathetic,  tranquil,  and  solemn  emotions,  always  pass  from  "  pure  tone  * 
to  "  orotund  quality,"  when  force  or  sublimity,  in  any  degree,  marks  the  lan- 
guage in  which  these  emotions  are  uttered. 


"effusive  orotund."  67 

The  ploughman  homeward  plods  his  weary  way, 
And  leaves  the  world  to  darkness  and  to  me. 

"  Now  fades  the  glimmering  landscape  on  the  sight, 
And  all  the  air  a  solemn  stillness  holds ; 
Save  where  the  beetle  wheels  his  drony  flight, 
And  drowsy  tinklings  lull  the  distant  folds. 

"  Save  that,  from  yonder  ivy-mantled  tower, 

The  moping  owl  does  to  the  moon  complain 
Of  such  as,  wandering  near  her  secret  bower, 
Molest  her  ancient,  solitary  reign. 

'  Beneath  those  rugged  elms,  that  yew-tree's  shade, 

Where  heaves  the  turf  in  many  a  mouldering  heap  ~« 
Each  in  his  narrow  cell  forever  laid, — 
The  rude  forefathers  of  the  hamlet  sleep. 

For  them  no  more  the  blazing  hearth  shall  burn, 

Or  busy  housewife  ply  her  evening  care ; 
No  children  run  to  lisp  their  sire's  return, 

Or  climb  his  knees,  the  envied  kiss  to  share." 

2.    Solemnity  and  Sublimity  combined. 

Milton's  Invocation  of  Light. 

'Hail!  holy  Light, — offspring  of  Heaven,  first-born, 
Or  of  the  Eternal  coeternal  beam 
May  I  express  thee  unblamed  ?  since  God  is  light, 
And  never  but  in  unapproached  light, 
Dwelt  from  eternity, — dwelt  then  in  thee, 
Bright  effluence  of  bright  Essence  increate1 
Or  hear'st  thou,  rather,  pure  ethereal  stream, 
Whose  fountain  who  shall  tell? — Before  the  sun, 
Before  the  heavens  thou  wert,  and,  at  the  voice 
Of  God,  as  with  a  mantle  didst  invest 
The  rising  world  of  waters,  dark  and  deep, 
Won  from  the  void  and  formless  infinite." 


68  ORTHOPHONY. 

3.    Reverence 

From  the  Book  of  Psalms. 
'  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul !  O  Lord,  my  God,  Thou  art 
very  great;  Thou  art  clothed  with  honor  and  majesty;  who 
coverest  thyself  with  light  as  with  a  garment ;  who  stretches t 
out  the  heavens  like  a  curtain :  who  layeth  the  beams  of  His 
chambers  in  the  waters :  who  maketh  the  clouds  His  chariot , 
who  walketh  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind ;  who  laid  the  foun- 
dations of  the  earth,  that  it  should  not  be  removed  forever  " 

II.      "  EXPULSIVE    OROTUND." 

This  form  of  the  "  orotund,"  or  full  utterance  of  public 
reading  and  speaking,  bears  precisely  the  same  relation  to 
the  preceding,  that  "  expulsive "  bears  to  "  effusive "  "  pure 
tone." 

It  arises  from  the  forcible  action  of  the  abdominal  muscles, 
added  to  full  expansion  of  chest,  and  deep  inspiration.  It  has 
the  same  laryngial  property  which  justifies  the  application  of 
the  term  "  orotund"  to  the  "  effusive  "  style  of  that  form  of 
utterance. 

"Expulsive  orotund"  belongs  appropriately  to  earnest  or 
vehement  declamation,  to  impassioned  and  poetic  excitement 
of  emotion,  and  consequently  to  whatever  language  is  uttered 
in  the  form  of  shouting. 

The  first-mentioned  of  these  styles,  —  the  declamatory,  ia 
exemplified  in  public  address  or  debate,  on  exciting  occasions. 
The  second  is  heard  in  the  utterance  of  passion,  when  the 
reader  or  speaker  passes  beyond  the  mere  voluntary  and  con- 
scious force  of  "declamatory"  utterance,  and,  in  pa  it, 
becomes  himself,  —  in  common  with  his  audience,  —  an  un- 
conscious, involuntary  subject  of  the  impelling  emotion  which 
he  expresses.  The  third  form  of  "  expulsive  orotund,"  is  at 
once  the  impassioned  and  the  voluntary  burst  of  emotion 
which  transcends  the  customary  forms  and  effects  of  speech, 
and,  in  the  spirit  of  enthusiastic  excitement,  utters  itself  in 
shouts  and  exclamations. 


"  EXPULSIVE     OROTUND."  C9 

Thia  form  of  utterance,  —  the  "expulsive  orotund,"  —  is  one  of 
the  noblest  functions  of  the  human  voice.  It  is  this  which  gives  to 
the  ear  the  full  effect  of  the  majesty  of  man,  as  a  being  of  heart  and 
will  and  imagination.  Without  the  full  command  of  this  property  of 
utterance,  the  public  reader  or  speaker  falls  short  of  whatever  effect 
naturally  belongs,  in  human  speech,  to  the  union  of  depth,  force,  and 
grandeur  of  emotion.  The  language  of  the  loftier  feelings  of  the 
soul,  unaided  by  this  natural  advantage,  becomes  familiar,  low,  and 
trivial. 

The  forcible  and  manly  eloquence  of  Demosthenes  or  of  Chatham, 
divested  of  the  full  "expulsive"  utterance  of  deep  and  powerful 
emotion,  would  become  ridiculous  in  its  effect  on  the  ear  and  the 
imagination.  The  same  would  be  true  of  the  style  of  our  own 
eminent  contemporary  and  countryman,  Webster.  Depth,  weight, 
and  fulness  of  tone,  form  one  powerful  assemblage  of  effects,  in  all 
his  utterance  on  great  and  exciting  occasions. 

To  form  the  voice  to  the  extent  of  the  full  property  of  "  expulsive 
orotund,"  care  should  be  taken  to  maintain  a  perfectly  erect  attitude 
of  body,  the  chest  fully  expanded,  and  projected,  and  the  shoulders 
depressed,  —  to  maintain,  also,  a  vigorous  play  of  the  abdominal  mus- 
cles, and  to  practise  the  organic  act  of  prolonged  coughing,  in  a  mod- 
erate form,  which  is  the  natural  mechanical  function  most  nearly 
resembling  "  expulsive  orotund."  The  elements  of  the  language 
should  be  practised  in  a  similar  style  ;  and  to  these  exercises  should 
be  added  the  repeated  and  energetic  practice  of  the  following  exam- 
ples. 

Practice  on  the  "  crying  "  voice,  or  weeping  utterance  of  sorrow, 
is  another  expedient  for  rendering  nature's  processes  conducive  to 
culture.  The  act  of  crying,  being,  in  its  mechanism,  a  perfect  "  ex 
pulsive  orotund." 

Exairiples  of  "Expulsive  Orotund"    . 

1. — "Declamatory  "  Style. 
From  Webster's  Speech  of  John  Adams. 

"  Sink  or  swim)  live  or  die,  survive  or  perish,  I  give  my 
Land  and  my  heart  to  this  vote  ! " 

"  Sir,  before  God,  I  believe  the  hour  is  come.  My  judg 
ment  approves  this  measure ;  and  my  whole  heart  is  in  it. 
Al.  that  I  have,  and  all  that  I  am,  and  all  that  I  hope,  in  this 
life,  I  am  now  ready  here  to  stake  upon  it ;  and  I  leave  off, 
as  I  began,  that,  live  or  die,  survive  or  perish,  I  am  for  the 
declaration.  It  is  my  living  sentiment ;  and,  by  the  blessing 
of  God,  it  shall  be  my  dying  sentiment :  — independence  now, 

and  INDEPENDENCE  FOREVER ! " 


70  ORTHOPHONY. 

2. — " bnpassioned"  Poetic  Style, 
From  Carey's  Ode  on  Eloquence. 

*  Where  rests  the  sword  ? — where  sleep  the  brave? 
Awake !   Cecropia's  ally  save 

From  the  fury  of  the  blast ! 
Burst  the  storm  on  Phocis'  walls, — 
Rise !  or  Greece  forever  falls  ; 

Up .  or  Freedom  breathes  her  last ! " 

3. — Weeping  Utterance.     ("  Crying"  Voice.) 
Prince  Arthur,  [to  Hubert,  whose  attendants  are  binding  the 

PRINCE,  FOR  THE  PURPOSE  OF  PUTTING  OUT  HIS  EYES.] — ShdkspearC 

"  Alas !  what  need  you  be  so  boisterous  rough  ? 

I  will  not  struggle, — I  will  stand  stone  still. 

For  Heaven's  sake,  Hubert,  let  me  not  be  bound ! 

Nay,  hear  me,  Hubert !  drive  these  men  away, 

And  I  will  sit  as  quiet  as  a  lamb : 

I  will  not  stir,  nor  wince,  nor  speak  a  word, 

Nor  look  upon  the  irons  angrily. 

Thrust  but  these  men  away,  and  I  '11  forgive  you, 

Whatever  torment  you  do  put  me  to ! " 

f 

4. — Shouting. 

Richmond  to  his  Troops. — Shafapeare. 

"  Advance  your  standards,  draw  your  willing  swords ! 
Sound  drums  and  trumpets,  boldly  and  cheerfully  ! 
God,  and  Saint  George  !  Richmond  and  victory ! " 

III.      "EXPLOSIVE    OROTUND." 

The  "explosive"  form  of  the  "orotund"  utterance,  bears 
the  same  relation  to  "  effusive  "  and  "  expulsive  orotund,"  that 
"  explosion"  in  breathing  or  whispering,  bears  to  "  effusion w 
and  "  expulsion,"  in  those  forms.  It  implies  an  instantane- 
ous burst  of  voice  with  a  quick,  clear,  sharp,  and  cutting 
eflec*  on  the  ear. 


M  EXPLOSIVE     OROTUND."  71 

fhis  mode  of  voice  proceeds  from  a  violent  and  abrupt  exertion  of 
the  abdominal  muscles,  acting  on  the  diaphragm,  and  thus  discharg- 
ing a  large  volume  of  air,  previously  inhaled.  The  breath,  in  this 
process,  is,  as  it  were,  dashed  against  the  glottis  or  lips  of  the  larynx, 
causing  a  loud  and  instantaneous  explosion.  In  the  act  of  "  explo- 
sion "  the  chink  of  the  glottis  is,  for  a  moment,  closed,  and  a  resist- 
ance, at  first,  offered  to  the  escape  of  the  breath,  by  a  firm  compres- 
sion of  the  lips  of  the  larynx,  and  downward  pressure  of  the  epiglot- 
tis. After  this  instant  pressure  and  resistance,  follows  the  explosion 
caused  by  the  appulsive  act  of  the  abdominal  muscles  and  the  dia- 
phragm, propelling  the  breath,  with  powerful  and  irresistible  volume, 
on  the  glottis,  and  epiglottis,  which  at  length  give  way,  and  suffer 
the  breath  to  escape,  with  a  loud  and  sudden  report,  of  a  purely 
explosive  character. 

The  preceding  and  accompanying  state  of  the  organs,  in  the  act  of 
"explosion,"  sufficiently  indicates  the  propriety  of  this  mode  of 
utterance  being  termed  "  orotund;"  as  it  possesses  all  the  depth, 
roundness,  and  fulness  of  the  other  forms  of  that  "  quality,"  which 
have  been  already  discussed,  and  implies  farther,  that  these  are  now 
compacted  and  condensed,  to  an  extraordinary  degree,  so  as  to  make 
the  sound  of  the  voice  resemble,  in  its  effect  on  the  ear,  that  of  a  firm 
and  hard  ball  striking  against  the  surface  of  the  body. 

"Explosive  orotund"  is  the  language  of  intense  passion: 
it  is  heard  when  the  violence  of  emotion  is  beyond  the  control 
of  the  will,  and  a  sudden  ecstasy  of  terror,  anger,  or  any 
other  form  of  intensely  excited  feeling,  causes  the  voice  to 
burst  forth  involuntarily  from  the  organs,  with  all  the  sudden 
and  startling  effect  that  would  arise  from  its  sound  being 
forced  out,  by  a  sudden  blow,  applied  to  the  back  of  the 
speaker.  It  exists  only  in  the  extremes  of  abrupt  emotion,  as 
in  the  burst  of  anger,  or  the  shout  of  courage,  and  admits  of 
no  gradations. 

This  form  of  the  human  voice  is  one  of  the  most  impressive  in  it3 
effect.  By  a  law  of  our  constitution,  it  acts  with  an  instantaneous 
shock  on  the  sympathetic  nerve,  and  rouses  the  sensibijty  of  tlio 
whole  frame ;  it  summons  to  instant  action  all  the  senses ;  and  in  the 
thrill  which  it  sends  from  nerve  to  brain,  we  feelits  awakening  and 
inciting  power  over  the  mind.  With  the  rapidity  of  lightning  it  pen- 
etrates every  faculty,  and  sets  it  instinctively  on  the  alert.  It  seems 
designed  by  na.ure  as  the  note  of  alarm  to  the  whole  citadel  within 
the  soul. 

We  hear  the  "explosive  orotund  quality"  exemplified  in 
the  sudden  alarm  of  fire,  in  the  short  and  sharp  cry  of  terror 
or  of  warning,  at  the  approach  of  instant  and  great  danger 


72  ORTHOPHONY 

in  the  eruptive  curse  of  furious  anger,  in  the  abrupt  exclama- 
tion of  high-wrought  courage,  and  in  the  burst  of  frantic 
grief  In  reading  and  recitation,  it  belongs  appropriately  to 
the  highest  ecstatic  effects  of  lyric  and  dramatic  poetry,  as  the 
language  of  intense  passion. 

Without  the  full  command  of  this  element,  emotion  becomes  lifeless 
and  ineffective  in  tone ;  and  the  inspired  language  of  the  poet  dies 
upon  the  tongue. 

To  gain  the  full  command  of  "  explosive  orotund  "  voice,  the  prac* 
tice  of  the  elements,  of  syllables,  and  words,  in  the  tones  of  anger 
and  terror,  should  be  frequently  repeated,  along  with  the  following 
and  similar  examples.  A  previous  organic  practice  should  also  be 
repeatedly  made,  on  the  mechanical  exercise  of  abrupt  and  loud 
coughing,  which  is  the  purest  form  of  "  explosive  orotund."  The 
vocal  elements  and  syllabic  combinations  should  be  repeated  in  the 
form  of  a  sudden  cough,  at  the  opening  of  each  sound.  Laughing, 
—  in  its  strongest  and  fullest  style,  —  is  another  natural  form  of 
"  explosive  orotund  ;"  and  the  mechanical  practice  of  the  act  is  one 
of  the  most  efficacious  modes  of  imparting  to  the  organs  the  power 
of  instantaneous  "  explosion,"  required  in  the  vivid  expression  of 
high-wrought  feeling.  These  processes  at  once  secure  a  vigorous 
state  of  the  organs  of  voice,  and  a  round  and  compacted  form  of 
sound.  No  exercise  is  so  effectual  for  strengthening  weak  organs,  or 
imparting  energy  to  tone,  as  the  "explosive  orotund "  utterance. 
Like  all  other  powerful  forms  of  exertion,  it  should  not,  at  first,  be 
carried  very  far ;  neither  should  it  be  practised  without  a  due  inter- 
spersing of  the  gentler  and  softer  exercises  of  voice.  Pursued  exclu- 
sively, it  would  harden  the  voice,  and  render  it  dry  and  unpleasing 
in  its  quality.  Intermingled  with  the  other  modes  of  prsfctice,  it 
secures  thorough- going  force  and  clearness  of  voice,  and  permanent 
vigor  and  elasticity  of  organs. 

Examples  of  "Explosive  Orotund" 
1.    Courage.     ("  Explosive "  Shouting.) 
Ode  to  the  Greeks.  —  Anon. 
"  Strike  for  the  sires  who  left  you  free ! 
Strike  for  their  sakes  who  bore  you ! 
Strike  for  your  homes  and  liberty, 

And  the  Heaven  you  worship,  o'er  you ! " 

2.   Anger. 
Antony,  [to  the  conspirators.] — Shakspeare. 
"  Villains !  you  did  not  threat,  when  your  vile  daggers 
Hacked  one  another  in  the  sides  of  Csesar ! 


"  EXPLOSIVE    OROTUND."  73 

You  showed  your  teeth  like  apes,  and  fawned  like  hounds, 
And  bowed  like  bondmen,  kissing  Caesar's  leet ; 
Whilst  damned  Casca,  like  a  cur,  behind, 
Struck  Caesar  on  the  neck.  —  Oh !  flatterers  !" 

3.    Terror. 

From  Halleck's  Marco  Bozzaris. 
"  To  arms ! — they  come ! — the  Greek,  the  Greek ! " 

4.    Hurry  and  Commotion. 
Maceeth  to  his  Officer. — ShaJcspeare. 

"  Send  out  more  horses, — skirr  the  country  round ; 
Hang  those  that  talk  of  fear  !  —  Give  me  mine  armor." 

"  ASPIRATED    QUALITY." 

The  "  qualities"  of  voice  which  are  most  frequently  exemplified 
in  reading  and  speaking,  are  those  which  have  been  defined  and  ex- 
emplified, under  the  designations  of  "pure  tone"  and  "orotund." 
Deviations  from  purity  of  tone,  are  usually  to  be  regarded  as  faults 
of  inadvertency  or  of  personal  habit.  Still,  there  are  some  classes  of 
emotions,  which,  from  their  peculiar  nature,  require,  as  one  element 
in  their  "expression,"  an  "aspirated  quality,"  or  that  in  which, 
from  the  forcible  character  of  the  feeling,  operating  with  a  corre- 
sponding effect  on  the  organs,  more  breath  is  expelled  from  the  tra- 
chea, in  the  act  of  utterance,  than  is  converted  into  sound  by  the 
exertion  of  the  larynx.  The  stream  of  air  which  the  excited  action 
of  the  expulsory  muscles,  throws  out,  under  the  influence  of  certain 
passions,  becomes  too  wide  and  too  powerful  to  be  moulded  by  the 
glottis  and  controlled  by  the  vocal  chords,  which,  for  the  moment, 
become,  as  it  were,  either  paralyzed  or  convulsed,  and  unable  to  act 
with  effect.  Hence  a  rushing  sound  of  the  breath  escaping,  unvo- 
calized,  is  heard  along  with  the  partially  vocalized  sounds  by  which 
such  passions  are  expressed.  The  half-whispering  voice  of  fear,  and 
the  harsh,  breathing  sound  of  anger,  are  examples  in  point,  in  the 
extremes  of"  expression." 

The  agitating  character  of  these  and  similar  emotions,  disturbs  the 
play  of  the  organs,  and  not  only  prevents,  in  utterance,  the  effect  of 
purity  of  tone, : — which  is  always  connected  with  comparative  tran- 
quillity of  feeling,  —  but  causes,  by  "  aspirated  quality,"  or  redun- 
dant breath  superadded  to  vocal  sound,  a  positive  impurity  of  tone, 
which  has  a  grating  effect  on  the  ear,  —  somewhat  as  takes  place 
when  we  hear  a  person  attempting  to  play  on  a  wind  instrument 
which  has  been  cracked,  and  which  allows  a  hissing  sound  of  the 
breath  to  escape  along  with  the  musical  notes. 


74  ORTHOPHONY. 

The  emotions  which  are  naturally  expressed  by  the  stiong- 
est  form  of  "  aspirated  quality,"  are  principally  of  that  class 
which  an  eminent  writer  on  the  passions  has  denominated 
"  malignant,"  from  their  peculiar  character  and  effect,  as  con- 
trasted with  those  of  others  which  he  denominates  "  genial." 
The  former  class  includes  fear,  hatred,  aversion,  horror, 
ange^,  and  all  similar  feelings  :  the  latter,  love,  joy,  serenity, 
tenderness,  pity,  &c. 

"  Aspirated  quality,"  like  other  forms  of  utterance,  may 
exist,  according  to  the  force  of  emotion,  in  the  three  grada- 
tions of  "effusive,"  "expulsive,"  and  "explosive"  voice. 
The  muscular  action  attending  utterance  in  the  form  of  "  as- 
pirated quality,"  is  usually  such  as  to  blend  with  the  "aspira- 
tion" either  a  "pectoral"  or  a  "guttural"  resonance,  very 
strongly  marked.  Hence  these  properties  of  voice,  which 
would,  in  the  expression  of  other  emotions,  be  mere  organic 
faults,  now  become  requisites  to  effect,  and  are,  therefore, 
comparative  excellences.  They  require,  accordingly,  special 
study  and  practice  as  modes  of  "  expressive  "  utterance. 

The  "aspirated  quality,"  in  the  "pectoral"  form,  belongs 
usually  to  despair,  deep-seated  anger,  revenge,  excessive  fear, 
horror,  and  other  deep  and  powerful  emotions. 

Other  emotions,  however,  besides  those  which  may  be 
designated  as  "malignant,"  partake  of  "aspirated  quality." 
Awe,  may  be  mentioned  as  an  example,  which,  when  pro- 
found, is  always  marked  by  a  slight  aspiration,  and  a  "  pec- 
toral quality."  Joy  and  grief  too,  become  "  aspirated"  when 
highly  characterized.  Ardor  and  intense  earnestness  of 
emotion,  are  always  "  aspirated."  The  fervent  expression  of 
love,  and  even  of  devotion,  admits,  accordingly,  of  "  aspi- 
rated "  utterance.  "  Aspiration,"  like  "  tremor,"  thus  becomes 
a  natural  sign  of  extremes  in  feeling;  and  these  two  proper- 
ties united,  form  the  acme  or  highest  point  of  "  expression." 

The  '  aspirated  quality,"  in  the  "  guttural"  form,  belongs, 
in  various  degrees,  to  all  malignant  emotions.  In  its 
stronger  expression,  it  gives  a  harsh,  animal,  and  sometimes 
even  fiend-like  character  to  human  utterance,  as  in  the  malice 


li  ASPIRATED    QUALITY."  75 

and  revenge  of  Shylock.     In  a  reduced,  though  si_  highly 
impassioned  degree,  it  gives  its  peculiar  choking  effect  to  the 


In  1he  yell  of  rage  and  fury,  "  aspiration  "  is  displaced  by  perfectly 
"  pure  tone  "  of  the  loudest  sound,  —  by  a  law  of  man's  organize  ion , 
which  it  is  unnecessary  here  to  analyze,  but  which  seems  to  make 
all  the  extremes,  or  utmost  reaches  of  human  feeling,  musical  in 
their  effect.  Joy,  and  the  extremes  of  both  grief  and  anger,  may  bo 
mentioned  as  illustrations. 

Aversion,  disgust,  displeasure,  impatience,  dissatisfaction^ 
and  discontent,  all,  in  various  degrees,  combine  "aspirated" 
utterance  and  "  guttural  quality." 

The  due  "  aspiration  "  of  the  voice,  in  all  the  emotions  which  have 
been  enumerated  as  requiring  that  property,  is  a  point  indispensable 
to  the  natural  and  appropriate  "  expression"  of  emotion,  and  conse- 
quently an  important  accomplishment  of  good  elocution,  whether  in 
reading  or  speaking. 

To  learners  who  have  practised  the  exercises  in  whispering,  which 
is  the  extreme  of  "  aspiration  "  this  quality  will  not  prove  difficult 
of  acquisition.  It  will  be  of  great  service,  however,  to  power  of 
"  expression,"  to  render  the  command  of  "  aspiration  "  easy  by  fre- 
quent repetition  on  elements,  syllables,  and  words,  selected  for  the 
purpose,  and  on  the  examples  contained  in  the  "  exercises  on  aspi 
rated  quality,"  in  the  Appendix. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

FORCE. 


A  primary  characteristic  of  utterance,  as  expressive  of  emotion, 
is  the  degree  of  its  energy,  or  force.  The  effect  of  any  feeling  on 
sympathy,  is  naturally  inferred  from  the  degree  of  force  with  which 
the  sound  of  voice,  in  the  utterance  of  that  feeling,  falls  upon  the  ear 
of  the  hearer.  The  cause  of  this  impression  upon  the  mind,  is,  obvi- 
ously, the  law  of  organic  sympathy,  by  which  one  part  of  the  human 
frame  naturally  responds  to  another.  A  powerful  emotion  not  only 
affects  the  heart  and  the  lungs,  and  the  other  involuntary  agents  of 
life  and  of  expression,  but  starts  the  expulsory  muscles  into  voluntary 
action,  and  produces  voice,  the  natural  indication  and  language  of 
feeling.  The  degree  of  force,  therefore,  in  a  vocal  sound,  is  intui- 
tively taken  as  the  measure  of  the  emotion  which  causes  it.  Except, 
on\y,  those  cases  in  which  the  force  of  feeling  paralyzes,  as  it  were, 
the  organs  of  the  voice,  and  suggests  the  opposite  measure  of  infer 


76  ORTHOPHONY. 

ence,  by  which  a  choked  and  struggling  utterance,  a  supprtssed  01 
inarticulate  voice,  or  even  absolute  silence,  becomes  the  index  to  tho 
heart. 

The  command  of  all  degrees  of  force  of  voice,  must  evidently  be 
essential  to  true  and  natural  expression,  whether  in  reading  or 
speaking.  Appropriate  utterance  ranges  through  all  stages  of  vocal 
sound,  from  the  whisper  of  fear  and  the  murmur  of  repose,  to  the 
boldest  swell  of  vehement  declamation,  and  the  shout  of  triumphant 
courage.  But  to  give  forth  any  one  of  these  or  the  intermediate 
tones,  with  just  and  impressive  effect,  the  organs  must  be  disciplined 
by  appropriate  exercise  and  frequent  practice.  For  every  day's 
observation  proves  to  us,  that  mere  natural  instinct  and  animal 
health,  with  all  the  aids  of  informing  intellect,  and  inspiring  emotion, 
and  exciting  circumstances,  are  not  sufficient  to  produce  the  effects 
of  eloquence,  or  even  of  adequate  utterance. 

The  overwhelming  power  of  undisciplined  feeling,  may  not  only 
impede  but  actually  prevent  the  right  action  of  the  instruments  of 
speech ;  and  the  novice  who  has  fondly  dreamed,  in  his  closet,  that 
nothing  more  is  required  for  effective  expression,  than  a  genuine 
feeling,  finds,  to  his  discomfiture,  that  it  is,  perhaps,  the  very 
intensity  of  his  feeling  that  hinders  his  utterance  ;  and  it  is  not  till 
expedience  and  practice  have  done  their  work,  that  he  learns  the  pri- 
mary lesson,  that  force  of  emotion  needs  a  practised  force  of  will,  to 
balance  and  regulate  it,  and  a  disciplined  control  over  the  organs,  to 
give  it  appropriate  utterance. 

The  want  of  due  training  for  the  exercise  of  public  reading  or 
speaking,  is  evinced  in  the  habitual  undue  loudness  of  some  speak- 
ers, and  the  inadequate  force  of  others  the  former  subjecting  their 
hearers  to  unnecessary  pain,  and  the  latter  to  disappointment  and 
uneasiness. 

Force  of  utterance,  however,  has  other  claims  on  the  attention  of 
students  of  elocution,  besides  those  which  are  involved  in  correct  ex 
pression.  It  is,  in  its  various  gradations,  the  chief  means  of  impart- 
ing strength  to  the  vocal  organs,  and  power  to  the  voice  itself.  The 
due  practice  of  exercises  in  force  of  utterance,  does  for  the  voice 
what  athletic  exercise  does  for  the  muscles  of  the  body  :  it  imparts 
the  two  great  conditions  of  power, — vigor  and  pliancy. 

"Vocal  gymnastics"  afford  no  discipline  more  useful  than  that 
which  accompanies  the  daily  practice  of  the  various  gradations  of 
force.  Exercises  of  this  description,  enable  the  public  speaker  to 
retain  perpetually  at  command  the  main  element  of  vivid  and  impres- 
sive utterance ;  and  they  furnish  to  young  persons  of  studious  and 
sedentary  habit  the  means  of  thorough  invigoration  for  the  energetic 
use  of  the  voice,  required  in  professional  exertions. 

Vocal  exercises  of  the  kind  now  suggested,  are  also  invaluable 
aids  to  health,  and  cheerfulness,  and  mental  activity,  in  all  who  prac- 
tise them,  and  are  not  less  useful  in  training  the  voice  for  the  gentle 
utterance  required  in  the  practice  of  reading  in  the  domestic  or  tho 
social  circle,  than  in  invigorating  it  for  public  performances. 

The  effect  of  vocal  training  in  the  department  of  force,  is  greatly 
augmented*  when  the  bolder  exercises  are  performed  in  the  open  ail 


FORCE.  77 

or  in  a  large  hall.  A  voice  trained  on  this  scale  of  practice,  easily 
rocommodates  itself  to  a  more  limited  space  ;  while  it  is  equally  true, 
that  a  voice  habituated  to  parlor  reading  only,  usually  fails  in  the 
attempt  to  practise  in  a  room  more  spacious.  Farther,  the  fact  is 
familiar  to  instructors  in  elocution,  that  persons  commencing  practice 
with  a  very  weak  and  inadequate  voice,  attain,  in  a  few  weeks,  a 
perfect  command  of  the  utmost  degrees  of  force,  by  performing  their 
exercises  out  of  doors,  or  in  a  hall  of  ample  dimensions. 

It  is  a  matter  of  great  moment,  in  practising  the  exercises  in  force, 
to  observe,  at  first,  with  the  utmost  strictness,  the  rule  of  commenc- 
ing with  the  slightest  and  advancing  to  the  most  energetic  forms  of 
utterance.  When  practice  has  imparted  due  vigor  and  facility,  it 
will  be  a  useful  variation  of  order,  to  commence  with  the  more 
powerful  exertions  of  the  voice,  and  descend  to  the  more  gentle.  It 
is  a  valuable  attainment,  also,  to  be  able  to  strike  at  once,  and  with 
perfect  ease  and  precision,  into  any  degree  of  force,  from  whispering 
to  shouting. 

As  the  exercises  in  the  various  "  qualities"  of  the  voice,  have 
already  led  us  over  the  ground  of  "  force,"  in  all  its  gradations,  it 
will  be  sufficient  to  present  them  once  in  succession,  without  farther 
explanation.     CSee  "  exercises  on  force,"  in  the  appendix.) 


DEGREES    OF    FORCE. 

The  perfect  command  of  every  degree  of  force,  and  an  exact  dis- 
crimination of  its  stages,  as  classified  by  degree  and  character  of 
emotion,  are  indispensable  to  correct  and  impressive  elocution. 
Extensive  and  varied  practice  on  force,  in  all  its  gradations,  becomes, 
therefore,  an  important  point,  in  the  vocal  culture  connected  with 
elocution.  Nor  is  it  less  valuable  as  the  chief  means  of  imparting 
power  of  voice  and  vigor  of  organ,  —  as  was  formerly  intimated. 

The  student's  attention  is  again  directed  to  the  importance  of  this 
element,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  patient  and  persevering  prac- 
tice on  elementary  sounds,  with  an  exclusive  view,  at  present,  to  the 
mechanical  exertion  of  the  organs  in  the  successive  stages  of  mere 
loudness  of  voice.  It  will  be  found  a  useful  practice  to  repeat  the 
first  line  of  each  example  in  succession. 

After  having  completed  the  practice  on  force,  as  prescribed  in  the 
preceding  exercises,  —  in  which  its  degrees  are  indicated  by  the  feel- 
ing expressed  in  each  example,  —  the  various  component  elements 
of  the  language,  the  "tonics,"  "  subtonics,"  and  "atonies,"  and 
examples  of  their  combination  in  syllables  and  wcrds,  may  be 
repeated  successively,  (1.)  in  forms  corresponding  to  the  style  of 
each  exercise  ;  (2.)  in  the  musical  gradations  of"  pianissimo,"  (very 
soft;)  "piano,"  (soft;)  "mezzo  piano,"  (moderately  soft ;)  "mez- 
zo," (moderate;)  "mezzo  forte,"  (moderately  loud;)  "forte,* 
(loud;)  and  "  fortissimo,"  (very  loud  ;")  (3.)  in  successive  stages, 
commmencing  with  the  slightest  and  most  delicate  sound  that  can  be 
uttered  in  "  pure  tone,"  and  extending  to  the  most  vehement  force 
of  shouting  and  calling  in  the  open  air,  and  with  all  the  power  that 
the  voice  can  yield. 
7* 


78  ORTHOPHONY. 

Persons  who  practise  such  exercises  several  times  a  day,1  for  ten 
or  fifteen  minutes  at  a  time,  will  find  a  daily  gain  in  vocal  power  ana 
organic  vigor  to  be  the  invariable  result :  every  day  will  enable  them 
to  add  a  degree  to  their  scale  of  force.  To  young  persons  whose 
organs  are  yet  fully  susceptible  of  the  benefits  of  training,  to  students 
and  sedentary  individuals,  in  general,  whose  mode  of  life  is  deficient 
in  muscular  exercise,  and  consequently  in  power  of  voice,  and  tc 
professional  men  whose  exercises  in  public  speaking  are  at  compara- 
tively distant  intervals,  (in  which  case,  the  organs  need  the  aid  of 
invigorating  daily  practice  more  than  in  any  other,)  the  mechanical 
practice  of  graduated  force,  is  the  most  effective  aid  that  can  be 
found. 

The  kind  of  exercise  now  recommended,  if  presented  in  a  form 
addressed  to  the  eye,  might  be  marked  thus : 

Each  dot  represents,  in  this  scale,  one  and  thi  ui,  j  sound,  or  word, 
repeated  with  a  gradually  increasing  force.  The'  repetition  of  the 
same  sound,  for  at  least  a  dozen  times,  is  preferred  to  a  change  of 
elements,  because,  by  repetition,  the  ear  becomes,  as  it  were,  a  more 
exact  judge  of  the  successive  degrees  of  force,  when  not  distracted 
by  attention  to  anything  else  than  the  one  point  of  mere  loudness. 

This  exercise  can  never  injure,  but  will  always  strengthen,  even 
weak  organs,  if  the  gradation  of  voice  be  duly  observed,  and  the  note 
of  the  scale  kept  rigorously  the  same,  throughout,  and  not  pitched, 
—  at  first,  —  either  very  high  or  very  low  on  the  scale. 


CHAPTER  V. 

"STRESS." 


Force,  as  a  property  of  voice,  may  be  regarded  either  as  it  exists 
in  consecutive  or  in  single  sounds.  Thus,  the  force  of  utterance,  in 
a  sentence  or  a  clause,  may  be  on  one  phrase,  or  even  on  a  single 
word.     In  the  pronunciation  of  a  word,  it  may  be  exclusively  on  one 

1  It  may  not  be  improper  to  remark  here,  that  vocal  exercise  should  be  prac- 
tised at  a  point  of  time  as  nearly  as  may  be  intermediate  to  the  hours  as- 
signed/or meal-times ;  as  the  organs  are  then  in  their  best  condition, —  neit .:  er 
embarrassed  nor  exhausted,  as  regards  the  state  of  the  circulation.  The  rule 
of  the  Italian  vocal  training,  which  prescribes  powerful  and  continued  exer- 
tion of  voice,  before  breakfast,  with  a  view  to  deepen  the  "  register,"  implies 
&  state  of  organs  already  inured  to  fatigue  ;  and  the  stereotype  direction  of  the 
old  physicians,  to  declaim  after  dinner,  with  a  view  to  promole  digestion, 
implies  either  a  meal  in  the  poet's  style  of  "  spare  fast,  that  oft  with  gods 
doth  diet,"  or  a  strength  of  the  digestive  organ,  that  can  render  it  callous  to 
the  powerful  shocks  which  energetic  declamation  always  irr  parts  by  impas- 
sioned emotion,  to  that  chief  "local  habitation"  of  the  "sympathetic 
norve. 


STRESS."  79 

sy!lable  In  the  enunciation  of  a  syllable,  the  organic  force  may  lie 
chiefly  on  a  single  letter.  In  the  sound  of  a  letter,  the  force  of  the 
voice  may  lie  conspicuously  on  the  first,  or  on  the  last  part  of  the 
sound,  on  the  middle,  or  on  both  extremes ;  or  it  may  be  distributed, 
with  an  approach  to  equalizing  force,  over  all  parts  of  the  sound. 

The  term  "  stress,"  as  used  by  Dr.  Eush,  is  applied  to  the 
mode  in  which  force  is  rendered  perceptible  or  impressive,  in 
single  sounds.  Stress  includes  two  elements  of  vocal  effect : 
—  1st,  mere  force  of  sound;  2d,  the  time  which  it  occupies. 
To  these  may  be  added,  not  improperly,  a  third  element, 
which  is  the  result  of  the  union  or  combination  of  the  other 
two,  viz.,  abrupt  or  gradual  emission. 

The  classification  of  the  forms  of  stress  is  as  follows : 

1st,  " Radical  stress"  or  that  in  which  the  force  of  utter- 
ance is,  usually,  more  or  less  "  explosive,"  and  falls  on  the 
"  radical "  (initial,  or  first)  part  of  a  sound. 

2d,  "Median  stress"  that  in  which  the  force  is  "expulsive" 
or  "  effusive,"  and  swells  out  whether  slowly  or  rapidly,  at 
the  middle  of  a  sound. 

3d,  "  Vanishing  stress"  or  that  which  withholds  the  "  ex- 
pulsive" or  "explosive"  force  till  the  "vanish,"  or  last 
moment  of  the  sound. 

4th,  "  Compound  stress"  or  that  in  which  the  voice,  with 
more  or  less  of  "  explosive"  force,  touches  forcefully  and  dis- 
tinctly on  both  the  initial  and  the  final  points  of  a  sound,  but 
passes  slightly  and  almost  imperceptibly  over  the  middle  part. 

5th,  "Thorough  stress"  in  which  the  initial,  middle,  and 
final  portions  of  a  sound,  are  all  distinctively  and  impres- 
sively marked  by  special  "  expulsive  force"  of  voice. 

6th,  "  Tremor"  tremulous,  or  intermittent  "  stress." 

1.       "  RADICAL    STRESS." 

This  form  of  vocal  force  is  exemplified  in  the  mechanical 
act  of  abrupt  coughing.1     In  speech,  its  highest  form  exists 

lu  There  are  so  few  speakers  able  to  give  a  radical  stress  to  syllabic  utter- 
ance, with  this  momentary  burst,  which  I  here  mean  to  describe,  that  I  must 
draw  an  illustration  from  the  effort  of  coughing.  It  will  be  perceived  that  a 
single  impulse  of  coughing,  is  not,  in  all  points,  exactly  like  the  abrupt  voice 
on  syllables :  for  that  single  impulse  is  a  forcing  out  ofalmost  all  the  breath  ; 
yet  i.i  the  tonic  element '  a- we '  be  employed  as  me  vocality  of  coughing,  its 


80  ORTHOPHONY. 

in  the  utterance  of  all  sounds  which  embody  starting  and 
abrupt  emotions ;  as  fear,  anger ,  &c.  It  exists,  also,  although 
m  a  reduced  form,  in  the  tones  of  deter?nined  will,  earnest 
argument,  emphatic  and  distinct  or  exact  communication,  ana 
other  unimpassioned  modes  of  expression. 

In  the  latter  shape,  "  radical "  stress  does  little  more  than  impart 
to  speech  an  additional  degree  of  that  clear,  distinct,  and  energetic 
character  of  utterance,  which  is  marked  by  the  decision  of  its  "  radi- 
cal movement,"  —  the  phrase,  (it  will  be  recollected,)  by  which  Dr. 
Rush  has  designated  the  opening,  or  initial  part,  of  articulate  sounds. 
But,  even  in  this  reduced  degree,  it  forms  one  of  the  most  valuable 
accomplishments  of  elocution  ;  for,  although  it  does  not,  in  this  mode, 
aim  at  a  sympathetic  effect  on  passion  or  imagination,  it  subserves  the 
substantially  useful  purpose  of  addressing,  in  clear,  distinct  style,  the 
ear  and  the  understanding.  The  definiteness  and  decision  of  the 
speaker's  intention,  the  clear  conviction  of  his  judgment,  the  dis- 
tinctness of  his  perceptions,  and  the  energy  of  his  will,  are  all  indi- 
cated in  this  natural  language  of  voice. 

A  due  "  radical  stress,"  farther,  imparts  point  and  spirit  to 
articulation :  it  gives  an  edge  and  a  life  to  utterance,  and  hin- 
ders emotion  from  rendering  the  voice  confused  and  indis- 
tinct. Vehemence,  without  "  radical  stress,"  becomes  vocif- 
eration and  bawling. 

The  energy  of  the  "radical  movement,"  may,  indeed,  be  justly 
termed  the  salt  and  the  relish  of  oral  communication,  as  it  preserves 
the  pungency  and  penetrating  effect  of  articulate  utterance.  With- 
out due  "radical  stress,"  reading  or  speaking  becomes  insipid  and 
ineffective.  The  argumentative  speaker  who  has  not  this  quality  at 
command,  seems  to  strike  with  the  flat  rather  than  the  edge  of  the 
rhetorical  weapon.1  Carried  to  excess,  it  becomes,  of  course,  a  fault : 
it  savors  of  dogmatical  arrogance  and  assumption,  of  selfish  wilful- 

aorui>;  Tiening  will  truly  represent  the  function  of  radical  stress  when  used 
in  aisccurse. 

"  The  clear  and  forcible  radical  stress  can  take  place  only  after  an  intei  rup- 
tion  of  the  voice.  It  would  seem  as  if  there  is  some  momentary  occlusion  in 
the  larynx,  by  which  the  breath  is  barred  and  accumulated  for  the  purpose  of 
a  full  and  sudden  discharge.  This  occlusion  is  most  under  command,  and  the 
explosion  is  most  powerful,  on  syllables  beginning  with  a  tonic  element,  cr 
with  an  abrupt  one  preceding  a  tonic ;  for,  in  this  last  case,  an  obstruction  in 
the  organs  of  articulation,  is  combined  with  the  function  of  the  larynx,  above 
supposed."  —  Dr.  Rush. 

i "  It  is  this,"  (radical  stress,)  "  which  draws  the  cutting  edge  of  words 
across  the  ear,  and  startles  even  stupor  into  attention:  —  this  which  lessens 
the  fatigue  of  listening,  and  outvoices  the  stir  and  rustle  of  an  assembly:  — 
arm  it  is  the  sensibility  to  this,  through  a  general  instinct  of  the  animal  ear, 
which  gives  authority  to  the  groom-  «md  makes  the  horse  submissive  to  hif 
angry  accent." — Id 


EXAMPLES   OF    "STRESS."  81 

nes«,  and  self-conceit.  Persuasion,  not  intimidation,  is  the  soul  of 
eloquence ;  argument,  not  assertion,  the  instrument  of  conviction ; 
sympathy,  not  opposition,  the  avenue  to  the  heart.  A  uniform,  hard 
"radical  stress,"  therefore,  can  effect  none  of  the  best  purposes  of 
speech,  and  must  ever  be  regarded  as  allied  to  violence  and  vulgarity, 
or  the  slang  of  party  invective. 

The  utter  absence,  however,  of  "  radical  stress,"  bespeaks  timid- 
ity and  indecision,  confusion  of  thought,  and  feebleness  of  purpose. 
The  speaker  who  fails  in  regard  to  the  effect  of  the  property  of 
"  radical  stress,"  solicits  our  pity,  rather  than  commands  our  respect. 
The  right  degree  of  this  function  indicates  the  manly,  self-possessed, 
and  impressive  speaker.  These  remarks  all  apply,  with  correspond- 
ing force,  to  the  exercise  of  reading.  A  feeble,  vacillating,  inex- 
pressive utterance,  kills,  as  it  were,  by  a  slow  but  sure  death,  the 
sentiments  of  the  most  impressive  writer ;  and  the  hacking  edge  of  a 
uniform,  unmodified,  "radical  stress,"  turns  the  parlor  or  the  class- 
room into  the  arena  of  a  debating-club. 

False  taste  and  style  in  the  practice  of  elocution,  sometimes  lead 
to  the  cultivation  of  an  exclusive  habit  of  "radical  stress,"  in  the 
utterance  of  young  readers  and  speakers.  The  effect  of  this  fault  is 
very  unfavorable.  The  decision  of  tone  which  it  implies,  belongs 
properly  to  years  and  to  experience,  on  special  occasions,  or  to  the 
language  of  vehement  excitement.  It  is  utterly  incompatible  with 
the  just  diffidence  and  respectful  tone  appropriate  in  youth,  and  for- 
ever prevents  the  winning  effect  of  nature's  genuine  eloquence,  in 
the  tones  of  feeling  chastened  and  subdued  by  reverence  for  truth 
and  respect  for  man. 

The  orator,  however,  and  the  reader,  must  still  be  regarded  as, 
in  their  function,  representing,  for  the  moment,  the  sentiments  of 
humanity,  not  merely  the  opinion  or  feeling  of  the  individual. 
Hence,  a  just  degree  of  firmness  and  force,  (and  the  "  radical 
stress  "  is  the  exponent  of  these  qualities,)  is  a  point  indispensable  to 
eloquent  speaking  and  impressive  reading. 

The  practice  of  the  following  examples  should  be  accompanied  by 
an  extensive  and  thorough  course  of  discipline  on  all  degrees  of ' '  ex- 
plosion," in  elements,  syllables,  and  words,  —  advancing  from  the 
very  slightest  to  the  intensest  form,  and  occasionally  reversing  the 
order,  so  as  to  reduce  the  function  of  explosion  from  its  most  impas- 
sioned to  its  nerely  intellectual  character  and  expression. 

EXAMPLES    OF   "  RADICAL   STRESS." 

I.     "Impassioned  Radical" 

Example  1.     Fear. 

("  Explosive  "  Utterance  :  "  Aspirated  Guttural  Quality.") 

From  Byron's  Lines  on  the  Eve  of  Waterloo. 

["While  throng  the  citizens  with  terror  dumb, 

Or  whispering  with  white  lips,]  '  The  foe  !—- they  come,  they 

come !  ' " 


82  ORTHOPHONY. 

2.    Anger  and  Scorn. 

("  Explosive  "  Utterance :  "Aspirated  Pectoral  Quality/') 

Coriolanus,  [to  the  People.] — Shakspeare. 

"  You  common  cry  of  curs !  whose  breath  I  hate 
As  reek  o*  the  rotten  fens, — whose  loves  I  prize 
As  the  dead  carcasses  of  unburied  men, 
That  do  corrupt  my  air, — J  banish  you!" 

3.    Courage. 

(" Explosive "  Utterance :  "Pure  Tone.") 

"  Up !  comrades,  up ! — in  Rokeby's  halls 
Ne'er  be  it  said  our  courage  falls ! " 

II.    "U?iimpassioned  Radical." 

Example  1.  Didactic  Composition :  Grave  Style.1 
("Pare  Tone:"  "Moderate  Force,"  "Grave"  Style.  — Usual 
Style  of  a  Sermon ,  or  of  a  Moral  or  Political  Discourse.) 
Immortality  of  the  Soul.  —  Addison. 
"  How  can  it  enter  into  the  thoughts  of  man,  that  the  soul, 
which  is  capable  of  such  immense  perfections,  and  of  receiving 
new  improvements  to  all  eternity,  shall  fall  away  into  nothing 
almost  as  soon  as  it  is  created?  Are  such  abilities  made  for 
no  purpose  ?  A  brute  arives  at  a  point  of  perfection  that  he 
can  never  pass :  in  a  few  years  he  has  all  the  endowments  he 
is  capable  of;  and  were  he  to  live  ten  thousand  more,  would 
be  the  same  thing  he  is  at  present.  Were  a  human  soul  thus 
at  a  stand  in  her  accomplishments,  were  her  faculties  to  be 
full  blown,  and  incapable  of  farther  enlargement,  I  could 
imagine  it  might  fall  away  insensibly,  and  drop  at  once  into 
a  state  of  annihilation.  But  can  we  believe  that  a  thinking 
being,  which  is  in  a  perpetual  progress  of  improvements,  and 
travelling  on  from  perfection  to  perfection, — after  having  just 
looked  abroad  into  the  works  of  its  Creator,  and  made  a  few 
discoveries  of  His  infinite  goodness,  wisdom,  and  power,— 

L  See  foot  note  on  next  page. 


EXAMPLES    OF    U  STRESS."  83 

must  perish  at  her  first  setting  out,  and  in  the  very  beginning* 
of  her  inquiries  ? ' 

2.  Didactic  Composition:   Serious  Style.1 

("Pure   Tone:"    "Moderate"   Force,    "Serious"    Style.  — The 

usual  form  of  utterance,  in  the  reading  of  an  Essay,  or  of  x  Lit 

erary  or  Scientific  Discourse.) 

Moral  Influence  of  Literature. — Fnsbie. 

:t  The  essay,  the  drama,  the  novel,  have  a  most  extensive 
and  powerful  influence  upon  the  moral  feelings  and  character 
of  the  age.  Even  descriptions  of  natural  scenery  owe  much 
of  their  beauty  and  interest  to  the  moral  associations  which 
they  awaken. 

"  In  like  manner,  fine  turns  of  expression  or  thought,  often 
operate  more  by  suggestion  than  enumeration.  But  wThen 
feelings  and  passions  are  directly  described,  or  imbodied  in 
the  hero,  and  called  forth  by  the  incidents  of  a.  story,  it  is 
then  that  the  magic  of  fiction  and  poetry  is  complete, — that 
they  enter  in  and  dwell  in  the  secret  chambers  of  the  soul, 
moulding  it  at  will.  In  these  moments  of  deep  excitement, 
must  not  a  bias  be  given  to  the  character,  —  and  much  be 
done  to  elevate  and  refine,  or  degrade  and  pollute,  those  sym- 
pathies and  sentiments  which  are  the  sources  of  much  of  our 
virtue  and  happiness,  or  of  our  guilt  and  misery  ?  " 

3.  Poetic  Composition:   Animated  Style} 

(<  Pure  Tone  :"  "  Moderate  "  Force,  "  Lively  "  Style.) 
Spring.  —  Bryant. 
"  Is  this  a  time  to  be  gloomy  and  sad, 

When  our  mother  Nature  laughs  around ; 
When  even  the  deep  blue  heavens  look  glad, 

Ana  gladness  breathes  from  the  blossoming  ground  ? 

i  Ir  these  examples  the  "  radical  stress  "  is  merely  of  that  gentle  kind 
which  gives  distinctness  and  life  to  articulation,  by  a  firm  and  clear  "  rad-fca* 
movement,"  and  preserves  the  serious  style  from  verging  on  the  solemn,  l.y 
"swell"  and  prolongation,  or  by  drawling.  The  slightest  form  of  a  Ci^ar 
cough,  is  the  mechanical  standard  of  organic  action,  in  this  degree  of 
"stress  ;"  and  this  distinction  should  be  carefully  observed  ;  for,  when  strong 
feeling  is  expressed  in  "  grave,"  or  in  "  serious,"  or  in  "  animated  "  style, 
especially  in  poetry,  the  "  stress  "  changes  to  "  median,"  for  greater  "  expres- 
sive effect." 


84  ORTHOPHONY. 

"  The  clouds  are  at  play,  :n  the  azure  space, 

And  their  shadows  at  play  on  the  bright  green  v«*i 
And  here  they  stretch  to  the  frolic  chase, 
And  there  they  roll  on  the  easy  gale. 

"  And  look  at  the  broad- faced  sun  how  he  smiles 
On  the  dewy  earth  that  smiles  on  his  ray, 
On  the  leaping  waters  and  gay  young  isles, — 
Ay.  look,  and  he  '11  smile  thy  gloom  away." 

4.    Poetic  Composition:   Gay  Style. 

(  *  Pure  Tone  :"  Moderately  Strong  Force,  "  Brisk"  Style.) 

Voice  of  Spring.  —  Mrs.  Hemans. 

"  Y  e  of  the  rose  lip  and  the  dew-bright  eye 
And  the  bounding  footstep,  to  meet  me  fly ! 
With  the  lyre  and  the  wreath  and  the  joyous  lay, 
Come  forth  to  the  sunshine, — I  may  not  stay." 

Spring.  —  Bryant. 

"  There 's  a  dance  of  leaves  in  that  aspen  bower, 
There  's  a  titter  of  winds  in  that  beechen  tree, 
There  's  a  smile  on  the  fruit,  and  a  smile  on  the  flower 
And  a  laugh  from  the  brook  that  runs  to  the  sea ! " 

II.       "  MEDIAN    STRESS." 

This  form  of  "  stress "  Dr.  Eush  describes  as  "  a  gradual 
strengthening  and  subsequent  reduction  of  the  voice,  similar 
to  what  is  called  a  swell,  (swell  and  diminish,)  in  the  Ian 
guage  of  musical  expression." 

"  Radical  stress,"  with  its  abrupt  explosion,  is  the  irrepressible 
burst  of  forcible  utterance,  in  the  language  of  unconscious  and  invol- 
untary emotion.  It  is  the  expression  of  passion  rather  than  of  will. 
"  Median  stress,"  on  the  contrary,  is  more  or  less  a  conscious  and 
intentional  effect,  prompted  and  sustained  and  enforced  by  the  will. 
It  is  the  natural  utterance  of  those  emotions  which  allow  the  inter- 
mingling of  reflection  and  sentiment  with  expression,  and  which  pur- 
posely dwell  on  sound,  as  a  means  of  enhancing  their  effect.  The 
swell  of  "  median  stress  "is,  accordingly,  more  or  less  ample  and 
prolonged,  as  the  feeling  which  it  utters  is  moderate,  or  deep  and 
fell,  lofty  and  awful. 


"  STRESS."  85 

"Median  stress"  has  the  form  of  "effusive"  utterance  in 
sublime,  solemn,  and  pathetic  emotions  :  it  becomes  "  expul- 
sive," in  those  which  combine  force  with  grandeur,  as  in 
admiration,  ^courage,  authoritative  command,  indignation, 
and  similar  feelings.  But  its  effect  is  utterly  incompatible 
with  the  abruptness  of  "  explosion."  Its  comparatively  mu« 
STca..  character  adapts  it,  with  special  felicity  of  effect,  to  the 
mebdy  of  verse,  and  the  natural  "  swell "  of  poetic  expres- 
sion. 

This  mode  of  "  stress,"  is  one  of  the  most  important  in  its  effects 
on  language,  whether  in  tlje  form  of  speaking  or  of  reading.  Desti- 
tute of  its  ennobling  and  expansive  sound,  the  recitation  of  poetry 
sinks  into  the  style  of  dry  prose,  the  language  of  devotion  loses  its 
sacredness,  the  tones  of  oratory  lose  their  power  over  the  heart. 

There  is  great  danger,  however,  of  this  natural  beauty  of  vocal  ex- 
pression being  converted  into  a  fault  by  being  overdone.  The  habit 
recognized  under  the  name  of  "mouthing,"  has  an  excessively 
increased  and  prolonged  "  median  swell  "  for  one  of  its  chief  charac- 
teristics. In  this  shape,  it  becomes  a  great  deformity  in  utterance, 
—  particularly  when  combined  with  what  is  no  infrequent  concomi 
tant,  the  faulty  mode  of  voice,  known  as  "  chanting  "  or  "  singing.' 
Like  sweetness  among  savors,  this  truly  agreeably  quality  of  sound, 
becomes  distasteful  or  disgusting,  when  in  the  least  degree  excessive. 

The  practice  of  "  median  stress,"  therefore,  requires  very  close 
attention.  The  spirit  of  poetry  and  the  language  of  eloquence,— 
the  highest  effects  of  human  utterance,  —  render  it  indispensable  as 
an  accomplishment  in  elocution.  But  a  chaste  and  discriminating 
ear  is  requisite  to  decide  the  just  degree  of  its  extent. 

"  Median  stress"  is  found  in  conjunction  with  most  of  the 
emotions  which  are  uttered  in  the  forms  of  "  pure  tone"  and 
"  orotund :"  it  exists  also,  though  less  perceptible  in  its  effect, 
in  union  with  "  aspirated  quality."  It  accompanies,  likewise, 
all  stages  of  force,  from  the  slightest  to  the  most  vehement. 

EXAMPLES    OF    "  MEDIAN   STRESS." 

I.     "Effusive"  Utterance. 
"Pure  Tone:"  "Subdued"  Force. 

.,   Patios.     (Gentlest  form  of  "median  stress,"—  a  barely 
perceptible  "  swell.") 
Death  of  the  Infant.  —  Mrs.  Hemans. 
"  Calm  on  its  leaf-strewn  bier, 
Unlike  a  gift  of  Nature  to  Decay, — 


86  ORTHOPHONY. 

Too  rose-like  still,  too  beautiful,  too  dear, — 
The  child  at  rest  before  its  mother  lay :  ~ 
Even  so  to  pass  away, 
With  its  bright  smile  ! — Elysium  what  wert  thou 
To  her  that  wept  o'er  that  young  slumberer's  brow  ? 

2.    Solemnity,     ("  Swell"  moderately  increased.) 
The  Past.  —  Bryant. 

"  Thou  unrelenting  Past ! 
Strong  are  the  barriers  round  thy  dark  domain ; 

And  fetters,  sure  and  fast, 
Hold  all  that  enter  thy  unbreathing  reign, 

"  Far  in  thy  realm  withdrawn 
Old  empires  sit  in  sullenness  and  gloom ; 

And  glorious  ages  gone 
Lie  deep  within  the  shadow  of  thy  womb. 

"  Childhood,  with  all  its  mirth, 
Youth,  Manhood,  Age,  that  draws  us  to  the  grouna, 

And  last,  Man's  Life  on  earth, 
Glide  to  thy  dim  dominions,  and  are  bound." 

3.    Tranquillity. 

Death  of  the  Good  Man.  —  Bryant. 

1  Why  weep  ye,  then,  for  him,  who,  having  won 
The  bound  of  man's  appointed  years, — at  last, 
Life's  blessings  all  enjoyed,  life's  labors  done, 
Serenely  to  his  final  rest  has  passed ; 
While  the  soft  memory  of  his  virtues,  yet, 
Lagers  like  twilight  hues,  when  the  bright  sun  is  set  ? 

u  His  youth  was  innocent ;  his  riper  age, 

Marked  with  some  act  of  goodness,  every  day; 

And,  watched  by  eyes  that  loveu  him,  calm  and  sage 
Faded  his  late  declining  years  away. 

Cheerful  he  gave  his  being  up,  and  went 

To  share  the  holy  rest  that  waits  a  life  well  spent. " 


u  STRESS."  87 

4.   Reverence.     (Fuller  "  swell.' ) 

"  Effusive  orotund  qiMlity." 

From  the  Forest  Hymn.  —  Bryant. 

"  Father  !    Thy  hand 
Hath  reared  these  venerable  columns ;  Thou 
Didst  weave  this  verdant  roof.     Thou  didst  look  down 
Upon  the  naked  earth ;   and,  forthwith,  rose 
All  these  fair  ranks  of  trees.     They  in  Thy  sun 
Budded,  and  shook  their  green  leaves  in  Thy  breeze, 
And  shot  towards  heaven.     The  century -living  crow, 
Whose  birth  was  in  their  tops,  grew  old  and  died 
Among  their  branches,  till,  at  last,  they  stood, 
As  now  they  stand,  massy,  and  tall,  and  dark,— 
Fit  shrine  for  humble  worshipper  to  hold 
Communion  with  his  Maker ! " 

6    Pathos  and  Sublimity.     (Full  and  prolonged  "  swell.") 
From  David's  Lamentation  over  Saul  and  Jonathan. 

"  How  are  the  mighty  fallen  !  —  Saul  and  Jonathan 

were  lovely  and  pleasant  in  their  lives ;  and  in  their  death 
ihey  were  not  divided ;  they  were  swifter  than  eagles,  they 
were  stronger  than  lions. — Ye  daughters  of  Israel,  weep  over 
Saul,  who  clothed  you  in  scarlet,  with  other  delights ;  who 
put  on  ornaments  of  gold  upon  your  apparel !  —  How  are  the 
mighty  fallen  in  the  midst  of  the  battle  !  O  Jonathan  !  thou 
wast  slain  in  thy  high  places  ! — How  are  the  mighty  fallen, 
and  the  weapons  of  war  perished ! " 

^  6     Solemnity  y  Sublimity,  and  Fervor.     ("  Fullest  swell  n\ 
From  the  Book  of  Psalms. 

"  Oh  !  sing  unto  the  Lord  a  new  song ;  for  he  hath  done 
marvellous  things  :  his  right  hand  and  his  holy  arm  hath  got- 
ten him  the  victory. — Make  a  joyful  noise  unto  the  Lord,  all 
the  earth :  make  a  loud  noise,  and  rejoice,  and  sing  praise. 
Sing  unto  the  Lord  with  the  harp ;  with  the  haj-p,  and  the 
voice  of  a  psalm.     With  trumpets  and  sound  of  cornet,  make 


88  ORTHOPHONY. 

a  joyful  noise  before  the  Lord  the  King.  Let  the  sea  roar, 
and  the  fulness  thereof;  the  world,  and  they  that  dwell 
therein.  Let  the  floods  clap  their  hands :  let  the  hills  be 
'oyful  together." 

II.    "Expulsive"  Utterance. 

"Pure  Tone :"  "Moderate"  Force. 

1.    Grave  Style.1 

(Gentle  and  pure  "  median  stress,"  without  prolongation.) 

The  Neglect  of  Religion.  —  Alison. 

"  The  excuses  of  youth,  for  the  neglect  of  religion,  are 
those  which  are  most  frequently  offered,  and  most  easily 
admitted.  The  restrictions  of  religion,  though  proper  enough 
for  maturer  age,  are  too  severe,  it  is  said,  for  this  frolicsome 
and  gladsome  period.  Its  consolations,  too,  they  do  not  want, 
Leave  these  to  prop  the  feeble  limbs  of  old  age,  or  to  cheer 
the  sinking  spirits  of  adversity. — False  and  pernicious 
maxim !  As  if,  at  the  end  of  a  stated  number  of  years,  a  man 
could  become  religious  in  a  moment!  As  if  the  husband- 
man, at  the  end  of  a  summer,  could  call  up  a  harvest  from 
the  soil  which  he  had  never  tilled !  As  if  manhood,  too, 
would  have  no  excuses  !  And  what  are  they  ?  That  he  has 
grown  too  old  to  amend.  That  his  parents  took  no  pains 
with  his  religious  education,  and  therefore  his  ignorance  is 
not  his  own  fault.  That  he  must  be  making  provision  for 
old  age ;  and  the  pressure  of  cares  will  allow  him  no  time 
to  attend  to  the  evidences,  or  learn  the  rules  of  religion. 
Thus  life  is  spent  in  framing  apologies,  in  making  and 
breaking  resolutions,  and  deferring  amendment,  till  death 
places  his  cold  hand  on  the  mouth  open  to  make  its  last 
excuse,  and  one  more  is  added  to  the  crowded  congregation  of 
the  dead." 

i  This  example  furnishes  an  instance  of  the  •'•"grave  "  style  assurn'og  the 
"  median  stress,"  for  impressive  effect,  as  formerly  mentioned. 


"  STRESS."  89 

2.    Serious  Style.1 
A  Median  stress,"  still  shorter  in  duration,  but  increased  in  force  ) 

Pleasures  of  the  Naturalist.  —  Wood. 

*'  Whether  the  naturalist  be  at  home  or  abroad,  in  every 
different  clime,  and  in  every  season  of  the  year,  universal 
riture  is  before  him,  and  invites  to  a  banquet  richly  icplen- 
\shed  with  whatever  can  invigorate  his  understanding,  or 
gratify  his  mental  taste.  The  earth  on  which  he  treads,  the 
air  in  which  he  moves,  the  sea  along  the  margin  of  which  he 
walks,  all  teem  with  objects  that  keep  his  attention  perpet- 
ually awake,  excite  him  to  healthful  activity,  and  charm  him 
with  an  ever-varying  succession  of  the  beautiful,  the  wonder- 
ful, the  useful,  and  the  new." 

3.    Animated  Style} 

(The  approach  to  poetic  description  renders  the  "swell" 
still  more  forcible  and  full,  but  also  allows  the  voice  to  dwell 
comparatively  longer  upon  it.) 

Early  Rising.  —  Robinson. 

%l  He  who  rises  early,  is  met  by  the  domestic  animals,  with 
peculiar  pleasure :  one  winds  and  purs  about  him,  another 
frisks  and  capers,  and  does  everything  but  speak.  The  stern 
mastiff,  the  plodding  ox,  the  noble  horse,  the  harmless  sheep, 
the  prating  poultry,  each  in  its  own  way  expresses  joy  when 
he  first  appears.  Then  how  incomparably  fine  is  the  dawn- 
ing of  the  day,  when  the  soft  light  comes  stealing  on,  at  first 
glimmers  with  the  stars,  but  gradually  outshines  them  all 
How  beautiful  are  the  folding  and  parting  of  the  gray  clouds, 
drawn  back  like  a  curtain,  to  give  us  a  sight  of  the  most 
magnificent  of  all  appearances,  the  rising  of  the  sun !  Haw 
rich  is  the  dew,  decking  every  spire  of  grass  with  colored 

1  These  examples  illustrate  the  application  of  the  "median  stress"  to  "se- 
rious" and  :  animated"  style,  from  fulness  of  feeling  and  effect.  Had  the 
composition  been  of  a  lower  tone,  the  utterance  would  have  exemplified  the 
application  of  the  "  un impassioned  radical." 

8* 


90  ORTHOPHONY. 

spa  lgles  of  endless  variety,  and  of  inexpressible  beauty ! 
Larks  mount,  and  fill  the  air  with  a  cheap  and  perfect  music ; 
and  every  tree,  every  steeple,  and  every  hovel,  emits  a  coo- 
ing or  a  twittering,  a  warbling  or  a  chirping, — a  hailing  of 
the  returning  day.' 

4.    Declamatory  Force. 
Resistance  to  Oppression. — Sheridan. 

"  Shall  we  be  told  that  the  exasperated  feelings  of  a  whole 
people,  goaded  and  spurred  on  to  clamor  and  resistance,  were 
excited  by  the  poor  and  feeble  influence  of  their  secluded 
princesses  ?  or  that  they  could  inspire  this  enthusiasm  and 
this  despair  into  the  breasts  of  a  people  who  felt  no  griev- 
ance, and  had  suffered  no  torture? — What  motive,  then, 
could  have  such  influence  in  their  bosoms  ?  What  motive  ! 
—  That  which  Nature,  the  common  parent,  plants  in  the 
bosom  of  man,  and  which  is  congenial  with,  and  makes  part 
of  his  being,  —  that  feeling  which  tells  him  that  man  was 
never  made  to  be  the  property  of  man;  but  that,  when 
through  pride  and  insolence  of  power,  one  human  creature 
dares  to  tyrannize  over  another,  it  is  a  power  usurped,  and 
resistance  is  a  duty,  —  that  principle  which  tells  him,  that 
resistance  to  power  usurped  is  not  merely  a  duty  which  he 
owes  to  himself  and  to  his  neighbor,  but  a  duty  which  he 
owes  to  his  God,  in  asserting  and  maintaining  the  rank 
which  He  gave  him  in  the  creation !  —  to  that  common  God, 
who,  where  he  gives  the  form  of  man,  whatever  may  be  the 
complexion,  gives  also  the  feelings  and  the  rights  of  man, — 
that  principle  which  neither  the  rudeness  of  ignorance  can 
stifle,  nor  the  enervation  of  refinement  extinguish,  —  that 
principle  which  makes  it  base  for  a  man  to  suffer  when  he 
ought  to  act ;  which,  tending  to  preserve  to  the  spec'ies  the 
original  designations  of  Providence,  spurns  at  the  arrogant 
distinctions  of  man,  and  vindicates  the  independent  quality 
of  his  race." 


11  STRESS."  91 

5.    Impassioned  Force. 

(A  full  and  gushing  "  swell"  of  grief.) 

Antony,  [before  the  Conspirators.] — Shakspeare 

"  That  I  did  love  thee,  Caesar,  oh  !  'tis  true . 
If  then  thy  spirit  look  upon  us  now, 
Shall  it  not  grieve  thee,  dearer  than  thy  death, 
To  see  thy  Antony  making  his  peace, 
Shaking  the  bloody  fingers  of  thy  foes, 
Most  noble  !  in  the  presence  of  thy  corse  ? 
Had  I  as  many  eyes  as  thou  hast  wounds, 
Weeping  as  fast  as  they  stream  forth  thy  blood, 
It  would  become  me  better,  than  to  close 
In  terms  of  friendship  with  thine  enemies. 
Pardon  me,  Julius  !  —  Here  wast  thou  bayed,  brave  hart, 
Here  didst  thou  fall ;  and  here  thy  hunters  stand, 
Signed  in  thy  spoil,  and  crimsoned  in  thy  lethe. 
O  world !  thou  wast  the  forest  to  this  hart ; 
And  this,  indeed,  O  world,  the  heart  of  thee  ! 
How  like  a  deer,  stricken  by  many  princes, 
Dost  thou  here  lie  ! " 

6.    Shouti7ig  and  Calling.         # 

£The  strongest  "  swell "  of  which  the  voice  is  capable,  the  note  pro* 
longed.) 

Cinna,  [after  the  assassination  of  Cjesar.]  — ShaJcspeare. 

"Liberty!    Freedom!    Tyranny  is  dead !  — 
Run  hence  !  proclaim,  cry  it  about  the  streets  ! " 

Cassius.     "  Some  to  the  common  pulpits  !  and  cry  out, 
Liberty,  freedom,  and  enfranchisement !" 

III.      "  VANISHING    STRESS." 

The  word  "  vanishing,"  in  this  use  of  it,  is  divested  entirely 
of  its  usual  meaning.  It  has  no  reference  whatever  to  an 
effect  corresponding  to  the  gradual  disappearing  of  a  visible 
object,  withdrawing  from  the  eye.  It  refers,  as  a  technical 
teim,  .nerely  to  the  last  audible  moment  of  a  vocal  sound, —  as 


92  ORTHOPHONY 

the  word  "  vanish "  was  technically  used  in  speaking  of  the 
"vanishing  movement"  in  the  utterance  of  a  sound  or  the 
enunciation  of  a  letter.  The  terms  "  radical"  and  "  vanish," 
used  in  elocution,  with  reference  to  the  property  of  "  stress," 
are  always  to  be  understood  as  exactly  synonymous,  the 
former,  with  the  word  initial,  and  the  latter,  with  the  worti 
final. 

We  hare  observed,  thus  far,  that  some  emotions,  in  their  utter 
ance,  throw  the  "  stress,"  or  force  of  vocal  sound,  upon  theirs/  por- 
tion of  an  element,  as  in  the  "  explosive  radical  "  of  anger,  of  fear , 
of  scorn,  and  similar  passions ;  while  others  retain  the  "  stress  "  foe 
the  effect  of  a  "  swell,"  or  expulsive  force,  on  the  middle  of  a  note* 
as  in  the  "  median"  style  of  the  shout  of  triumph,  or  the  gentle,  but 
full- swelling  tone  of  reverence,  or  adoration.  We  proceed  now  tc 
those  emotions  which  express  themselves  by  a  jerking  furce,  01 
"  stress,"  thrown  out  at  the  "  vanish  "  or  close  of  a  sound. 

The  force  of  utterance  in  the  expression  of  emotions  marked 
by  "  vanishing  stress,"  begins  with  a  light  and  gentle,  audi 
ends  with  a-  heavy  and  violent  sound,  which  leaves  off 
instantly  and  abruptly.  But  although  the  sound,  in  such 
cases,  is  obviously  slight  at  its  commencement,  and  powerful 
at  its  close,  it  is  by  no  means  a  gradual  formation  and 
increase  of  force,  easily  followed  by  the  ear  or  analyzed  by 
the  mind.  On  the  contrary,  the  whole  duration  of  such 
sounds  is  very  brief  and  transient,  and  their  effect  on  the  ear 
excessively  abrupt,  as  well  as  violent. 

This  form  of  "  stress,"  being  the  natural  expression  of 
extreme  emotion,  does  not  admit  of  the  gradations  which 
may  not  unfrequently  be  traced  in  the  "  radical "  and  "  me- 
dian "  modes.  It  exists  only  in  the  shape  of  a  protracted  or 
deferred  "  explosion."  Its  nature  is  incompatible  with  "  ex- 
pulsion," or  any  inferior  force. 

A  pretty  accurate  impression  of  the  character  of  the  "  vanishing 
stress,"  may  be  obtained  by  listening  to  the  sound  of  a  musket,  when, 
through  negligent  loading,  or  from  damp  powder,  it  "hangs  fire," 
and  a  partially  hissing,  but  gTOwing  sound  precedes  the  final  explo- 
sion. It  is  exhibited  in  the  mechanical  functions  of  the  human 
organs  of  respiration  and  of  voice,  when  the  workman  who  is  using 
a  heavy  sledge-hammer  brings  it  down  in  coincidence  with  a  groan- 
ing expiration,  terminating  at  the  moment  of  the  blow,  in  the  form 


"  STRESS  "  93 

faLiiliarly  termed  a  grunt.  It  is  exemplified,  in  its  moral  effect,  10 
the  language  of  a  child  stung  to  a  high  pitch  of  impatient  or  peevish 
feeling,  and  uttering,  in  the  tone  of  the  most  violent  ill-temper,  its 
appropriate  "  I  won't!"  or  "  You  shan't  !"  In  such  circumstances 
the  "  explosion  "  of  passion  is  deferred,  or  hangs,  for  a  moment,  on 
the  ear,  till  the  "  vanish  "  or  final  part  of  the  sound  bursts  out  from 
the  chest,  throat,  and  mouth,  with  furious  vehemence  ;  leaving,  in  its 
abrupt  termination,  an  effect  directly  contrary  to  the  dying  wail  of 
grief,  or  the  gentle  vanish  of  the  tone  of  love. 

The  obvious  preparation  of  the  organs  for  the  vocal  effect, 
in  the  expression  of  "  vanishing  stress,"  implies  its  compara- 
tive dependence  on  volition.  Hence  it  is  the  natural  utter- 
ance of  determined  purpose,  of  earnest  resolve,  of  stern  rebuke, 
of  contempt,  of  astonishment  and  horror,  of  fierce  and  obsti- 
nate will,  of  dogged  sullenness  of  temper,  of  stubborn  passion, 
and  all  similar  moods.  It  is  the  language,  also,  of  peevish- 
?>sss  and  impatience,  and,  sometimes,  of  excessive  grief 

Like  all  other  forms  of  impassioned  utterance  which  are  strongly 
narked  in  the  usages  of  natural  habit,  this  property  of  voice  is  indis- 
pensable to  appropriate  elocution,  whether  in  speaking  or  reading. 
VVithout  "  vanishing  stress,"  declamation  will  sometimes  lose  its 
manly  energy  of  determined  will,  and  become  feeble  song  to  the  ear. 
High-wrought  resolution  can  never  be  expressed  without  it.  Even 
the  language  of  protest,  though  respectful  in  its  form,  needs  the 
aid  of  the  right  degree  of  "  vanishing  stress,"  to  intimate  its  sin- 
cerity and  its  firmness  of  determination,  as  well  as  its  depth  of  con 
viction. 

But  when  we  extend  our  view  to  the  demands  of  lyric  and  dra- 
matic poetry,  in  which  high-wrought  emotion  is  so  abundant  an 
element  of  effect,  the  full  command  of  this  property  of  voice,  as  the 
natural  uttesance  of  extreme  passion,  becomes  indispensable  to  true 
natural,  and  appropriate  style. 


EXAMPLES    OF    "  VANISHING   STRESS." 

Determined  Purpose  and  Earnest  Resolve, 

Example  1.  —  [Webster,  on  Freedom  of  Debate.] 

I"  Pectoral  quality :"  "  Declamatory  "  force  :  Bold  "  stress.") 

"  On  such  occasions,  I  will  place  myself  on  the  extreme 
boundary  of  my  right,  and  bid  defiance  to  the  arm  that 
would  push  me  from  it." 


94  ORTHOPHONY. 

2.  [Otis,  against  "Writs  of  Assistance."] 

("Quality"  and  force,  as  in  Example  1:  "Stress"  more  dtlio 
erate.) 

"  Let  the  consequences  be  what  they  will,  I  am  determined 
to  proceed.  The  only  principles  of  public  conduct  which  are 
worthy  of  a  gentleman  or  a  man,  are,  to  sacrifice  estate, 
health,  ease,  applause,  and  even  life,  at  the  sacred  call  of  his 
country." 

3.   [Swiss  Deputy's  reply  to  Charles  of  Burgundy.] 

("Aspirated  Pectoral  Quality;"  "Impassioned"  force:  Increased 

"  stress.") 

"  You  may,  if  it  be  God's  will,  gain  our  barren  and  rugged 
mountains.  But,  like  our  ancestors  of  old,  we  will  seek 
refuge  in  wilder  and  more  distant  solitudes ;  and  when  we 
have  resisted  to  the  last,  we  will  starve  in  the  icy  wastes  of 
the  glaciers.  Ay,  men,  women,  and  children,  we  will  be 
frozen  into  annihilation  together,  ere  one  free  Switzer  will 
acknowledge  a  foreign  master ! " 

4.  [Campbell's  war-song  of  the  Greeks.] 

^"  Orotund  Quality:"  "Impassioned"  force:  "Stress"  still  more 
vehement.) 

"  We  Ve  sworn,  by  our  country's  assaulters, 

By  the  virgins  they  Ve  dragged  from  our  altars, 
By  our  massacred  patriots,  our  children  in  chains,, 
By  our  heroes  of  old,  and  their  blood  in  our  veins, 
That  living,  we  will  be  victorious, 
Or  that  dying,  our  deaths  shall  be  glorious. " 

Stern  Rebuke. 

Itaa  Henry  V.  [to  Lord  Scroop,  on  the  detection  of  his  Treason.] 

— Shakspearc. 

('Aspirated  Pectoral  Quality:"  "Impassioned"  force:  Vehemen* 

"stress.") 

"  But  oh  \ 
What  shall  I  say  to  thee,  Lord  Scroop,  thou  cruel 
Ungrateful,  savage,  and  inhuman  creature  1 


STRESS.  05 

Thou  that  didst  bear  the  keys  of  all  my  counsels, 
That  knew'st  the  very  bottom  of  my  soul, 
That  almost  might'st  have  coined  me  into  gold, 
Wouldst  thou  have  practised  on  me  for  thy  use  ? " 

Contempt  and  Mockery. 

Qteen  Constance,  [to  the  Arch-duke  of  Austria.]  — Shakspcars. 

("Aspirated  oral,  and  guttural  Quality :"  "Impassioned"  force: 

Violent "  stress.")  \S 

"  Thou  slave  !  thou  wretch  !  thou  coward ! 
Thou  little  valiant,  great  in  villany  I  > 

Thou  ever  strong  upon  the  stronger  side  ! 
Thou  Fortune's  champion,  that  dost  never  fight 
But  when  her  humorous  ladyship  is  by 
To  teach  thee  safety ! " 

Astonishment  and  Horror. 

Macduff,  [on  discovering  the  murder  of  Duncan.] — Shalcspcare. 

(Extremely  "  Aspirated  pectoral  Quality :"  "  Impassioned  "  force ; 
Excessive  "  stress") 

"  Oh !  horror !  horror !  horror ! — Tongue  nor  heart, 
Cannot  conceive,  nor  name  thee  ! 

"  Confusion  now  hath  made  his  masterpiece ! 
Most  sacrilegious  murder  hath  broke  ope 
The  Lord's  anointed  temple,  and  stole  thence 
The  life  o'  the  building. 

"  Approach  the  chamber,  and  destroy  your  sight 
With  a  new  Gorgon ! " 

Fierce  and  Stubborn  Will. 

Siiylock,  [refusing  to  listen  to  Antonio.]  — Shakspcare. 

("  Aspirated,  pectoral  and  guttural  Q  \ality :"  "  Impassioned  "  vehe* 
mence  :  Excessive  ''  stress.") 

"  I  '11  have  my  bond  ;  I  will  nDt  hear  thee  speak: 
I  '11  have  my  bond  ;  and  therefore  speak  no  more. 


96  ORTHOPHONY. 

I  '11  not  be  made  a  soft  and  dull-eyed  fool, 
To  shake  the  head,  relent,  and  sigh,  and  yieM 
To  Christian  intercessors.     Follow  not ; 
I  '11  have  no  speajdng !  I  will  have  my  bond  * 

Peevish  Impatience. 

HoTsruR,  [irritated  against  Henry  IV.]  — Shakspsare. 

"  Why,  look  you,  I  am  whipped  and  scourged  witn  rods, 
Nettled,  and  stung  with  pismires,  when  I  hear 
Of  this  vile  politician  Bolingbroke  ! " 

IV.       "  COMPOUND    STRESS." 

This  designation  is  applied  to  that  form  of  "  stress  "  which 
throws  out  the  voice  forcibly  on  the  first  and  the  last  part  of 
a  sound,  but  slights,  comparatively,  the  intermediate  portion. 
It  is,  then,  the  application  of  a  "  radical"  and  a  "  vanishing" 
stress  on  the  same  sound,  without  an  intervening  "  median.'' 

It  is  the  natural  mode  of  "  expression,"  in  the  utterance  of 
surprise,  and  sometimes,  though  less  frequently,  of  othei 
emotions,  as  contempt  and  mockery,  sarcasm  and  raillery. 

In  the  instinctive  uses  of  the  voice,  this  function  seems  specially 
designed  to  give  point  and  pungency  to  the  "  radical"  and  "  vanish," 
or  opening  and  closing  portions  of  sounds  which  occupy  a  large  space 
of  time,  and  traverse  a  wide  interval  of  the  "  scale."  The  "  explo- 
sive" force  at  the  commencement  of  such  sounds,  and  the  partial  repe- 
tition of  "  explosive  "  utterance  at  their  termination,  seems  to  mark 
distinctly  to  the  ear  the  space  which  they  occupy,  and  thus  intimate 
their  significant  value  in  feeling.  We  see  an  analogous  proceeding 
which  addresses  itself  to  the  eye,  when  the  workman,  desirous  of 
obtaining  a  perfectly  exact  measure,  makes  a  deep  indentation  with 
the  end  of  his  rule,  at  each  end  of  a  given  line,  or  distance,  upon  the 
object  which  he  is  measuring.  Such  indentations  may  illustrate  the 
design  or  the  effect,  of  the  pungent  points  of  sound,  in  "  compound 
•stress  :"  they  are  distinct  and  impressive  marks,  and  utter  an  impor- 
sant  meaning. 

The  use  of  this  form  of  "  stress  "  belongs  appropriately  to  feelings 
of  peculiar  force  or  acuteness.  But  on  this  very  account,  it  becomes 
an  indispensable  means  of  natural  expression  and  true  effect,  in  many 
passage.-  of  reading  and  speaking.  The  difference  between  vivid  and 
dull  or  flat  utterance,  will  often  turn  on  the  exactness  with  which  this 
expressive  function  of  voice  is  exerted. 

The  careful  and  repeated  practice  of  "  compound  stress,"  on  ele- 
ments, syllables,  and  words,  should  accompany  the  repetition  of  the 


"STRESS."  97 

following-  examples.  To  give  these  last,  however,  their  true  char- 
acter and  full  effect,  the  imagination  must  be  wholly  given  up  to  the 
supposed  situation  of  the  speaker;  so  as  to  receive  a  full  sympathetic 
impression  of  the  feeling  to  be  uttered.  Vivid  emotion  only,  can 
prompt  true  expressive  tone. 

EXAMPLES    OF   "  COMPOUND   STRESS." 

1.   Extreme  Surprise. 

Q  hen  Constance,  [when  confounded  with  the  intelligence  of  tub 
union  of  Lewis  and  Blanche,  and  the  consequent  injury  to  her 
son,  Arthur.] — Shakspeare. 

("Aspirated,  guttural,  and  oral  Quality:"  "Impassioned"  force.) 

"  Gone  to  be  married !     Gone  to  swear  a  peace  ! 
False  blood  to  false  blood  joined  !     Gone  to  be  friends  ! 
Shall  Lewis  have  Blanche,  and  Blanche  these  provinces  ? 
"  It  is  not  so  ;  thou  hast  misspoke,  misheard, — 
Be  well  advised,  tell  o'er  thy  tale  again : 
It  cannot  be ; — thou  dost  but  say  't  is  so." 

2.    Surprise ,  Perplexity,  and  Contempt. 

[The  examples  of  "compound  stress"  occur  in  the  words  which 
the  servant  repeats  after  Coriolanus.    He  has  entered,  poorly 
clad,  and  unrecognized,  the  mansion  of  aufidius,  and  is  ill  received 
ey  the  domestics,  whom  he  treats  with  harshness  and  disdain  1 
Shakspeare. 

Servant.   "  Where  dwellest  thou  ? 
Coriolanus.   *  Under  the  canopy. 
Serv.   Under  the  canopy ! 
Cor.    Ay! 

Serv.   Where  's  that  ? 
Cor.   V  the  city  of  kites  and  crows. 

Serv,   V  the  city  of  kites  and  crows ! —  (WTiat  an  ass  it  is !) 
-  -  Then  thou  dwellest  with  daws  too  ? 
Cor.   No  :  I  serve  not  thy  master." 

1  The  disdainful  and  repulsive  manner  of  Coriolanus,  causes  all  his  replies 
to  become  striking  examples  of  the  most  abrupt  "  radical  stress."  The  short 
and  snappish  reply  of  petulance,  always  takes  this  form.  It  is  not  till  provo- 
cation or  irritation  has  stung  its  subject  to  the  pitch  of  intolerable  excite- 
ment, that  utterance  assumes  the  "  vanishing  stress." 

a 


98  ORTHOPHONY. 

V.      "  THOROUGH    STRESS." 

This  species  of  "  stress  "  is  produced  by  a  marked  force  of 
utterance,  placed  distinctively  on  each  part  of  a  sound  to 
which  the  "radical,"  "median,"  and  "vanishing"  forms  of 
stress,  would  apply  separately.  It  exhibits  all  of  these,  in 
succession,  on  one  and  the  same  sound. 

The  "thorough  stress"  is  the  natural  mode  of  utterance 
in  powerful  emotion  of  that  kind  which  seems  as  it  -were,  to 
delight  in  full  and  swelling  expression,  and  to  dwell  upon 
and  amplify  the  sounds  of  the  voice. 

As  far  as  vocal  effect  can  be  an  exponent  of  feeling,  this  peculiarly 
characterized  force,  which  omits  no  prominent  portion  of  a  sound,  but 
pervades  and  obtrudes  each  one,  would  seem  the  appropriate  lan- 
guage of  all  emotions  which,  in  poetic  phraseology,  are  said  to  "  fill 
the  soul,"  "swell  the  bosom,"  "fire  the  heart,"  or  "delight  and 
charm  the  fancy." 

"  Thorough  stress,"  is  accordingly,  the  characteristic  mode 
of  "  expression"  in  the  utterance  of  rapture,  joy,  triumph,  and 
exultation,  lofty  command,  indignant  emotion,  disdain,  exces- 
sive  grief,  or  whatever  high-wrought  feeling  seems  for  the 
time  to  wreak  itself  on  expressive  sound.  It  is  obviously  the 
language  of  extreme  or  impassioned  feeling  only.  It  abounds, 
accordingly,  m  lyric  and  dramatic  poetry.  It  is  found,  how- 
ever, in  all  vehement  declamation  in  which  the  emotion  is  sus- 
tained by  reflective  sentiment,  as  in  the  excitement  of  virtu- 
ous indignation  and  high-souled  contempt. 

"  Thorough  stress  "  is  one  of  the  most  powerful  weapons  of  ora- 
tory, as  well  as  one  of  the  most  vivid  effects  of  natural  feeling.  If 
indiscriminately  used,  it  becomes  ineffective,  as  savoring  of  the  habit 
and  mannerism  of  the  individual,  rather  than  of  just  and  appropriate 
Mioigy.  In  such  circumstances,  it  becomes  rant ;  and  when  joined, 
as  it  sometimes  is,  to  the  habit  of  "  mouthing,"  it  can  excite  nothing 
but  disgust  in  a  hearer  of  well-regulated  taste. 

Juvenile  readers,  however,  in  some  instances,  from  diffidence,  and 
students,  from  their  enfeebling  mode  of  life,  are  apt  to  fall  far  short 
of  the  requisite  decree  of  this  expressive  function  of  the  voice.  To 
obtain  the  full  command  of  it  in  all  its  applications,  and  to  preserve 
K  a!\vcys  from  excess,  much  careful  practice  on  appropriate  exam- 
ines, n.nd  on  letters,  syllables,  and  words,  becomes  indispensable,  aa 
t«  yr^parau  xy  discipline  in  elocution 


"stress.''''  99 

EXAMPLES    OF   "  THOROUGH   STRESS." 

Rapture,  Joy,  Triumph,  Exultation. 
("  Expulsive  orotund :"  "  Impassioned  "  force :  Powerful "  stress.") 

1. 

From  the  Dying  Christian.  — Pope* 

"  Lend,  lend  your  wings  !  I  mount,  I  fly ! 
O  Grave  !  where  is  thy  victory  ? 
O  Death !  where  is  thy  sting ! " 

("Expulsive  orotund:"  Force  of  shouting:  Vehement  "  stress'  \ 

2. 

From  Moore's  Lines  on  the  Fate  of  Naples. 

"  Shout,  Tyranny,  shout 
Through  your  dungeons  and  palaces, '  Freedom  is  o'er ! ' " 

Lofty  Command.  ' 

("  Expulsive  orotund,"  and  "  sustained  "  force  of  calling,  combined : 
Powerful  and  prolonged  "  stress.") 

From  Satan's  Call  to  his  Legions. — Milton. 

"  Princes !  potentates  ! 
Warriors,  the  flower  of  heaven !  once  yours,  now  lost. 
If  such  astonishment  as  this  can  seize 
Eternal  spirits, 
Awake !  arise  !  or  be  forever  fallen ! " 

Yehement  Indignation. 

("Expulsive orotund  :""  Declamatory"  force :  Vehement"  stress.") 

From  Chatham's  Rebuke  of  Lord  Suffolk. 

"  These  abominable  principles,  and  this  more  abominable 
avowal  of  them,  demand  the  most  decisive  indignation.  I 
call  upon  that  right  reverend  and  this  most  learned  Bench  to 
vindicate  the  religion  of  their  God,  to  defend  and  support  the 
justice  of  their  country.  I  call  upon  the  bishops  to  interpose 
the  unsullied  sanctity  of  their  lawn,  upon  the  judges  to  intei« 
pose  the  purity  of  their  ermine,  to  save  us  from  this  pollution. 


.100  ,  .  <  «     "  ORTHOPHONY. 


I  call  upon  the  honor  of  your  lordships,  to  reverence  the 
dignity  of  your  ancestors,  and  to  maintain  your  own.  I  call 
upon  the  spirit  and  humanity  of  my  country,  to  vindicate  the 
national  character." 

Disdain, 

Satan,  [to  Ithuriel  and  Zephon.]  — Milton, 

("  Expulsive  orotund  :"  "  Impassioned"  force  :  Powerful "  stress.") 

"  Know  ye  not  then,"  said  Satan,  filled  writh  scorn, 
"  Know  ye  not  me  ? — Ye  knew  me  once  no  mate 
For  you ;  there  sitting  where  ye  durst  not  soar : 
Not  to  know  me  argues  yourselves  unknown, — 
The  lowest  of  your  throng." 

Violent  Grief, 

Lady  Gapulet,  [on  the  apparent  death  of  Juliet.]  — Shakspeare. 

("Aspirated  pectoral  and  oral  Quality:"  "Explosive"  utterance: 
"Impassioned  "  force  :  Violent  "  stress.") 

M  Accurs'd,  unhappy,  wretched,  hateful  day ! 
Most  miserable  hour  that  e'er  time  saw, 
In  lasting  labor  of  his  pilgrimage  ! " 

TREMOR,    OR   "  INTERMITTENT   STRESS." 

When,  by  the  hysterical  or  excessive  force  of  impassioned 
feeling,  the  breath  is  agitated  into  brief  successive  jets,  in* 
stead  of  gushing  forth  in  a  continuous  stream  of  unbroken 
sound,  a  tremor,  or  tremulous  effect  of  voice,  is  produced, 
which  breaks  its  "stress"  into  tittles  or  points; — much  in 
the  same  way  that  a  row  of  dots  may  be  substituted  to  the 
eye,  for  one  continuous  line.  The  human  voice,  in  the  case 
now  in  view,  is  as  appropriately  said  to  "  tremble,"  as  when 
we  apply  the  term  to  the  shivering  motion  of  the  muscular 
frame. 

The  "  tremor"  of  the  voice  is  the  natural  expression  of  all 
emotions  which,  from  their  peculiar  nature,  are  attended 
with  a  weakened  condition  of  the  bodily  organs ;  such  aa 


"stress.*'  10) 

extreme  feebleness  from  age,  exhaustion,  sickness,  fatigue 
grief  and  even  joy,  and  other  feelings,  in  which  ardor  or 
extreme  tenderness  predominates. 

In  the  reading  or  the  recitation  of  lyric  and  dramatic  poetry,  this 
function  of  voice  is  often  required  for  full,  vivid,  and  touching  expres- 
sion. Without  its  appeals  to  sympathy,  and  its  peculiar  power  over 
the  heart,  many  of  the  most  beautiful  anl  touching  passages  of 
Shakspeare  and  Milton  become  dry  and  cold.  Like  the  tremula  of 
the  accomplished  vocalist,  in  operatic  music,  it  has  a  charm,  for  the 
absence  of  which  nothing  can  atone ;  since  nature  suggests  it  as  the 
genuine  utterance  of  the  most  delicate  and  thrilling  emotion. 

The  perfect  command  of  "  tremor,"  requires  often-repeated  prac- 
tice on  elements,  syllables,  and  words,  as  well  as  on  appropriate  pas- 
sages of  impassioned  language. 

EXABIPLES    OF   "  TREBIOR." 

1.    The  Tremor  of  Age  and  Feebleness, 

("  Pure  Tone  i"  "  Subdued  "  force  of  Pathos :  Tremulous  utterance, 
throughout.) 

Stanza  from  a  popular  Ballad. 

"  Pity  the  sorrows  of  a  poor  old  man, 

Whose  trembling  limbs  have  borne  him  to  your  door, 
Whose  days  are  dwindled  to  the  shortest  span ; — 
Oh !  give  relief;  and  Heaven  will  bless  your  store ! ' 

2.    Exhaustion  and  Fatigue. 

("Aspirated  pectoral  and  oral  Quality:"   "Suppressed"  force: 
* '  Tremor ' p  throughout. ) 

From  "  As  you  like  it."  — Shakspeare, 

Adam,  [to  Orlando.]  "  Dear  master,  I  can  go  no  farther: 
Oh  !  I  die  for  food !  Here  lie  I  down,  and  measure  out  my 
grave.     Farewell !  kind  master." 

("  Pure  Tone :"  "  Subdued  "  force  of  Pathos :  Occasional  "  tremor  * 
of  Tenderness.) 

Orlando,    [to   Adam.]     "Why,   how   now,   Adam! — no 

greater  heart  in  thee  ?     Live  a  little;  comfort  a  little;  cheer 

thyself  a  little.     For  my  sake  be  comfortable ;   hold  death 

awhiie  at  the  arm's  end:  I  will  here  be  with  the 3  presently 

9* 


102  ORTHOPHONY. 

Well  said !  thou  look'st  cheerily :  and  I  '11  be  with  thee 
quickly. — Yet  thou  liest  in  the  bleak  air:  Come,  I  will  beai 
thee  to  some  shelter.     Cheerly,  good  Adam ! " 

3.    Sickness. 

King  John,  [on  the  eve  of  his  death,  to  Faulconbridge.]  — Shatepca-e. 

("  Aspirated  pectoral  Quality :"  "  Suppressed  "  force  :  Gasping  ana 
tremulous  utterance.) 

"  0  cousin,  thou  art  come  to  set  mine  eye : 
My  heart  hath  one  poor  string  to  stay  it  by, 
Which  holds  but  till  thy  news  be  uttered ; 
And  then  all  this  thou  seest,  is  but  a  clod 
And  module  of  confounded  royalty. " 

4.    Excessive  Grief. 

Jwe,  [to  Adam,  after  their  fall  and  doom.]  — Milton. 

(u  Aspirated  pectoral  and   oral   Quality:"  "  Impassioned"  force: 
Weeping  utterance  :  "  Tremor,"  throughout.) 

"  Forsake  me  not  thus,  Adam  :  witness  heaven 
What  love  sincere,  and  reverence  in  my  heart 
I  bear  thee,  and  unweeting  have  offended, 
Unhappily  deceived  :  thy  suppliant, 
I  beg,  and  clasp  thy  knees ;  bereave  me  not, 
Whereon  I  live,  thy  gentle  looks,  thy  aid, 
Thy  counsel  in  this  uttermost  distress, 
My  only  strength  and  stay :  forlorn  of  thee 
Whither  shall  I  betake  me,  where  subsist  ?  " 

5.   Extreme  Pity. 

("Pure  Tone:"  "Impassioned"  force:  Weeping  and  tremuluai 
utterance.) 

From  the  Tempest. —  Shakspeare. 

Miranda,  [to  her  father.]     "  Oh !  I  have  suffered 
With  those  that  I  saw  suffer !  a  brave  vessel, 
Who  had,  no  doubt,  some  noble  creatures  in  her, 
Dashed  al  to  pieces.     Oh !  the  cry  did  knock 


"stress."  103 

Against  my  very  heart !     Poor  souls !  they  perished. 

Had  I  been  any  god  of  power,  I  would 

Have  sunk  the  sea  within  the  earth,  or  ere 

It  should  the  good  ship  so  have  swallowed,  and 

The  freighting  souls  within  her ! " 

6.    Joy  and  Admiration. 

[Alonzo's  exclamation,  on  beholding  his  son  Ferdinand,  whom  he  had 
supposed  drowned.]  — Shakspeare. 

("Pure  Tone:"  "Impassioned  expulsive"  force:    "Tremor"  of 
joy,  throughout.) 
"  Now  all  the  blessings 
Of  a  glad  father  compass  thee  about ! " 

("Pure  Tone:"  "Impassioned  expulsive"  force:   Ecstatic  "tre- 
mor "  of  joy,  wonder,  and  love.) 

Miranda.     "  Oh !  wonder ! 
How  many  goodly  creatures  are  there  here  ! 
How  beauteous  mankind  is  !     Oh !  brave  new  world, 
That  has  such  people  in  't ! " 


The  various  modes  of  "  stress  "  have  been  so  copiously  illustrated, 
that  it  seems  unnecessary  to  add  special  exercises,  at  the  close  of  this 
chapter.  Before  proceeding  to  the  next  subject,  however,  the  stu- 
dent will  derive  much  benefit  from  reviewing  the  examples  of  the 
different  forms  of  "  stress,"  and  practising  them  in  conjunction  with 
the  elementary  sounds  and  combinations,  and  with  the  addition  of  the 
following  words,  as  classified  for  this  purpose. 

"Tonic  Elements" 
Av?e         Arm        An  Eve         Ooze         En  End 


all 

ah! 

add 

eel 

fool 

erst 

ebb 

awtu) 

art 

as 

ear 

POCT 

earth 

else 

In 

Air 

Dp 

Or 

On 

Ah 

Zee 

ill 

hair 

as 

orb 

odd 

ace 

esle 

is 

hvt 

aghl 

order 

off 

aim 

ides 

Old 

Out 

Oil 

Use 

own 

owl 

oyster 

Ural 

ore  owt  oily  your 


104 


ORTHOPHONY. 


"  Subtonics." 


Sing     Babe     Did 
ha?ig     bulb      died 


Gag 

on  rr 


Maim      Nun     Ray        Far 

madam     nine     rip  bear 

mime       noun    rock        hear     tongue  bib  dared     Gog 

Valve       Zone     Azure     Ye         Woe      Lull  TH'me  Joy 

revolve     zeal      measure  yon       way      loll  THey  judgi 

relpet       zest      pleasure  you       wax      lily  THan  jar 

"Atonies." 

Pipe    Tent    Cake    Fife     Cease    He     Thin  Fush    Church 

pulp    tat       cark    fief      assess    hail   thank  hush    chaste 

pop     tut       casque  fitful  stocks    hand  thaw  harsh   chat 

Words  comprising  elements  of  opposite  character  and  forma- 
tion. 

Awe     An  Arm  End  jEve  In  Ooze    Up     7ce    In  Old  On 


ahl 
art 


all         add 
always  at 

Lull  Cake 

loll  cark 

lily  kick 

Nun  Cease 

nine  assess 

noun  stocks 


ebb 
ell 


eel     it 

ear     it 


fool       us 
poor     ugh ! 


Maim        Tent 
madam      tat 


mime 
Zone 
disease 


tut 

Thin 

thinketh 


isle   H 
ides  it 

Ran 


own  odd 
ore    off 


rip 
rock 


disowns     thanketh 


Far 

hear 
hear 
Azure  Fife 
measure  fief 
pleasure    fitful 


Teachers  who  are  instructing  classes  will  find  great  aid  in  the  use 
of  the  black  board,  for  the  purpose  of  visible  illustration,  in  regard  to 
the  character  and  effect  of  the  different  species  of  "  stress."  Exer- 
cises such  as  the  following,  may  be  prescribed  for  simultaneous  prac- 
tice in  classes. 

(Repeat  six  times  in  sue- 

("Radical  Stress")         £>     -411,        cession,  with  constantly 

increasing  force.) 

("Vanishing  Stress.")     <|       "  "        "        "  "  " 

("Median  Stress.")       <>      "  "        "        "  "  " 

('"Compound  Stress.")  [X]      "  "       "       "  "  " 

("Thorough  Stress.")    O       "  "        "       "  "  " 

("Tremor")  "  "       "       "  *  " 


"melody."  105 

To  commence  with  a  definite  idea  of  the  mode  of  stress  in  each 
instance,  set  out  from  the  standard  of  a  given  emotion  decidedly 
marked,  and  let  the  degree  of  emotion  and  the  force  of  utterance  be 
increased  at  every  stage.  Thus,  let  [>  represent  the  "  radical 
stress  "  on  the  sound  of  0,  in  the  word  all,  in  the  following  example 
of  authoritative  command:  "Attend  all!"  —  <^]  the  "vanishing 
stress  "  on  the  same  element,  in  the  following  example  of  impatience 
and  displeasure :  "  I  said  all,  —  not  one  or  two."  —  <3>  the  "  me- 
dian stress"  on  the  same  element,  in  reverence  and  adoration:  "  Join 
all  ye  creatures  in  His  praise '  "  —  {^><d  tne  "  compound  stress," 
in  astonishment  and  surprise:  "  What !  all?  did  they  all  fail?  "  — 
C^  tne  "  thorough  stress,"  in  defiance :  u  Come  one  —  come  all  !" 

— the  "  tremor"  of  sorrow :  "  Oh  !  I  have  lost  you  all  !  "— 

The  practice  of  the  examples  and  the  elements  should  extend  to  the 
utmost  excitement  of  emotion  and  force  of  voice.  Ocular  references 
may  seem,  at  first  sight,  to  have  little  value  in  a  subject  which 
relates  to  the  ear.  But  notes  and  characters,  as  used  in  music%  serve 
to  show  how  exactly  the  car  may  be  taught  through  the  eye ;  and 
even  if  we  admit  the  comparatively  indefinite  nature  of  all  such  rela- 
tions, when  transferred  to  the  forms  of  speech  and  of  reading,  the 
suggestive  power  of  visible  forms  has  a  great  influence  on  the  faculty 
of  association,  and  aids  clearness  and  precision  of  thought,  and  a  cor- 
responding defmiteness  and  exactness  in  sound. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

"MELODY." 


The  word  "  melody "  may  be  applied  to  speech  m  the 
same  general  sense  as  in  the  technical  language  of  music,  to 
designate  the  effect  produced  on  the  ear,  by  the  successive 
vMes  of  the  voice,  in  a  passage  of  music  or  of  discourse. 

The  use  of  this  term  presupposes,  both  in  music  and  in 
speech,  a  certain  "  pitch,"  or  initial  note,  whether  predomi- 
nating in  a  passage,  or  merely  commencing  it,  and  to  which 
the  subsequent  sounds  stand  in  the  relation  of  higher  or  lower 
or  identical. 

The  term  "  melody,"  used  as  above,  does  not  necessarily  imply  a 
melodious  or  pleasing  succession  of  sounds,  or  the  reverse:  It  has 
regard  merely  to  the  fact  just  mentioned,  that  the  successive  sounds 
to  which  this  term  is  applied,  are  comparatively  higher  or  lower  on 
the  musical  scale,  or  in  strict  unison  with  the  first  sound  of  a  series. 
In  this  technical  sense,  the  word  "  melody  "  applies  to  speech  as 
well  as  to  music. 


106  ORTHOPHONY. 

Regarded  in  connection  with  the  sense  of  beauty  or  of  r.  leasnre 
however,  we  perceive  at  once  a  marked  difference  between  th* 
"  melody  "  of  music  and  that  of  speech.  The  former,  has,  compar- 
atively, the  effect  of  poetry  :  beauty  is  its  chief  element ;  and  it  yields 
to  the  ear  an  exquisite  sense  of  pleasure.  The  latter  may,  as  in  the 
recitation  or  the  reading  of  verse,  possess  a  degree  of  this  charm, 
though  comparatively  an  imperfect  one.  But  it  may,  on  the  con- 
trary, possess  no  such  beauty :  it  may  exhibit  a  succession  ol  the 
most  harsh  and  grating  sounds,  intended  to  jar  and  pain  the  ear,  by 
the  violence  of  discordant  and  disturbing  passion  ;  or  it  may,  at  least, 
be  but  a  tame  and  insipid  succession  of  articulation,  in  the  utterance 
of  a  fact  addressed  exclusively  to  the  understanding,  as  in  the  com- 
mon relations  of  magnitude,  shape,  or  number.  The  melody  of 
speech,  in  such  cases,  intentionally  divests  itself  of  whatever  quality 
in  tone  is  adapted,  whether  to  pleasure  or  to  pain,  and  adheres  to  the 
customary  intonation  of  dry  fact  and  plain  prose. 

In  the  latter  case,  however,  not  less  than  in  the  former,  the  rela- 
tions of  sounds  to  each  other,  as  measured  by  the  musical  scale,  can 
be  distinctly  traced  ;  and,  on  this  account,  the  "  melody  of  speech," 
or  of  "  reading,"  is  a  phrase  as  truly  significant  as  that  of  the  "  mel- 
ody of  a  strain  of  music." 

PITCH. 

The  word  "  melody,"  used  in  its  technical  sense,  occupies, 
then,  the  same  ground  in  elocution  as  in  music,  and  refers  us, 
in  the  first  instance,  to  an  initial  or  commencing  sound  to 
which  others  in  a  series  may  be  compared  as  high  or  low  or 
neither.  ,To  this  sound  the  term  "pitch"  is  [applied,  as 
designating'  the  particular  point  of  the  scale,  as  high  or  low, 
on  which  the  voice  is  thrown  out.  Thus,  we  speak  of  the 
deep  tones  or  low  notes  of  an  organ,  as  contrasted  with  the 
shrill  sound  of  a  fife,  of  the  grave  tone  of  the  voice  of  a  man, 
or  of  the  comparatively  high  pitch  of  that  of  a  woman ;  or  of 
the  low  voice  of  devotion,  as  contrasted  with  the  high,  shrill 
scream  of  excessive  fear,  or  the  piercing  shriek  of  terroi. 

The  correct  practice  of  elocution,  as  in  appropriate  speaking,  reci- 
tation, or  reading,  implies  the  power  of  easily  and  instantly  shifting 
the  4'  pitch  "  of  the  voice,  according  to  the  natural  note  of  emotion 
required  for  every  shade  of  expression  depicted  in  the  composition 
which  is  spoken,  recited,  or  read.  Nature,  or, — more  properly 
speaking,  —  the  Author  of  the  human  constitution,  has  so  contrived 
the  organization  of  the  corporeal  frame,  in  conjunction  with  the  sen- 
sibility of  the  soul,  that  certain  notes  of  the  voice  are  necessarily 
associated  with  certain  emotions.  Thus  a  repetition  of  low  and  sub- 
dued tones  overheard  from  an  adjoining  apartment,  suggests  to  us 


PITCH.  107 

the  thought  that  its  occupant  is  employed  in  the  exercise  of  devotion ; 
because  solemn  and  reverential  feeling  is  uniformly  asscciated  in 
voice  with  low  notes  of  the  scale.  A  succession  of  high  and  vivid 
tones,  overheard,  might  suggest  the  idea  of  a  lively  conversation,  or 
an  earnest  debate,  or  a  fierce  dispute,  as  the  case  might  be  ;  for  the 
emotions  implied  in  such  communication,  are  all  associated  with  high 
notes  of  the  scale. 

The  study  of  "  pitch,"  as  an  element  of  "melody,"  leads  ua 
accordingly  ti  a  classification  of  emotions  as  characterized  by  com- 
paratively "  high  "  or  "low"  notes.  The  science  of  music  pos- 
sesses, in  the  department  of"  pitch,"  a  great  advantage  over  that  of 
elocution ;  as  it  refers,  in  all  cases,  to  a  perfectly  exact  measure  of 
sound,  as  ascertained  by  reference  to  the  invariable  standard  of  cer- 
tain notes,  at  given  points  of  the  scale,  executed  by  musical  instru- 
ments not  liable  to  variation.  The  musician  can  thus  apply,  as  his 
rule,  a  definite  scale  of  vast  extent,  and  of  perfect  precision  in 
admeasurement.  The  elocutionist,  on  the  contrary,  derives  his  scale 
from  feeling  rather  than  from  science  or  external  rule.  The  natural 
pitch  of  human  voices,  varies  immensely,  not  only  with  sex  and  age, 
but  in  the  accustomed  notes  of  one  individual,  as  differing  from  those 
of  another. 

The  musician,  when  speaking  of  a  low  strain  of  melody,  can  con- 
veniently refer  to  a  precise  note  of  the  scale,  by  the  exact  letter 
which  designates  it.  The  elocutionist,  when  referring  to  the  low 
tone  of  awe,  has  no  more  definite  measure  in  view  than  a  note  which 
lies  low,  in  comparison  even  with  the  customary  low  notes  of  the 
voice  of  the  reader  or  speaker. 

Due  attention,  may,  no  doubt,  enable  the  elocutionist  to  ascertain, 
in  a  given  case,  the  precise  note  of  the  scale  required  according  to 
the  organic  formation  and  the  vocal  habit  of  an  individual.  But  such 
a  note  might  prove  too  low  for  the  compass  of  voice,  in  another  per- 
son, or  quite  too  high  to  be  appropriate  or  impressive,  in  another 
still,  whose  voice  is  naturally  low-pitched. 

The  language  of  elocution  is  accordingly  limited  to  the  familiar 
designations  of  "  low,"  and  "  very  low,"  "  high,"  and  "  very  high," 
when  the  scale  is  traced  to  any  great  extent  beyond  the  "  middle  " 
or  average  pitch  of  utterance.  This  indefinite  reference,  however, 
is  usually  sufficient  for  the  purposes  of  reading  and  speaking,  which 
regard  a  general  sympathetic  effect,  or  feeling,  rather  than  any 
which  requires  the  precise  measure  of  science. 

I.     "Middle"  Pitch. 

The  "middle"  pitch  of  the  voice  is  that  of  our  habitual 
utterance,  on  all  occasions  of  ordinary  communication  in  con- 
rcrsation  or  address.  It  implies  a  medium  or  average  state 
of  feeling,  or  a  condition  of  mind  free  from  every  strong  or 
marked  emotion.  It  is  the  natural  note  of  unimpassioned 
utterance,  seeking  to  find  its  way  to  the  understanding  rather 


108  ORTHOPHONY. 

than  to  the  heart,  and  hence  avoiding  high  or  low  pitch,  as 
belonging  to  the  language  of  feeling  or  of  fancy.  Common 
conversation,  a  literary  or  a  scientific  essay,  a  doctrinal  ser- 
mon, or  a  plain  practical  discourse  on  any  subject  limited  to 
purposes  of  mere  utility,  and  demanding  the  action  of  judg- 
ment and  reason,  principally,  may  be  mentioned  as  examples 
of"  middle"  pitch. 

This  form  of  "  pitch  "  being  that  which  is  habitual,  in  comparison 
with  others,  becomes,  in  popular  usage,  the  criterion  of  what  is 
termed  "  natural  "  reading  or  speaking.  It  is,  indeed,  justly  adopted 
as  the  standard  of  ordinary  communication.  The  habit  of  observing 
this  pitch  on  all  common  occasions  of  speech  and  of  reading,  becomes 
an  important  means  of  natural  and  true  effect  in  elocution.  Falling 
below  this  average  of  utterance,  we  drop  necessarily  into  tones  asso- 
ciated with  grave  and  solemn  effect ;  and,  rising  above  it,  we  approach 
the  style  of  light,  gay,  or  humorous  expression.  Either  of  these 
extremes  becomes  not  merely  an  error  of  taste  in  elocution,  but  of 
judgment  and  ear  :  .it  sets  the  voice  at  variance  with  the  nature  of  the 
subject  of  communication,  and  defeats  its  proper  effect. 

Both  of  the  extremes  which  have  been  mentioned,  however,  are 
current  faults  of  usage.  Some  juvenile  readers,  in  consequence  of 
the  effort  which  they  usually  make  in  their  exercises,  cause  a  slight 
overstrain  of  voice,  which  becomes  apparent  in  the  pitch  rising  above 
its  appropriate  level :  others,  from  embarrassment,  let  the  voice  sink, 
as  it  were  into  the  chest,  with  a  partially  hollow  sound,  and  a  note 
too  grave.  Students  and  sedentary  persons,  from  their  exhausting 
mode  of  life,  incline  habitually  to  the  latter  fault ;  and,  when  excited 
by  unusual  interest  in  public  communication,  perhaps  unconsciously 
assume  the  opposite  extreme,  of  a  pitch  too  high  for  the  free  use  of 
the  voice. 

The  proper  standard  of  middle  pitch,  for  the  purpose  of 
vocal  practice,  is  that  of  serious  and  earnest  conversation  in  a 
numerous  circle. 

In  selecting  examples  according  to  the  rhetorical  characteristics  of 
sty.e,  the  choice  should  be  made  from  intermediate  modes  of  writing, 
which  are  neither  so  deep-toned  in  their  language,  as  those  whHi 
are  denominated  "  grave  "  or  "  solemn,"  nor  yet  so  high-pitcheo  as 
the  "  gay,"  or  brisk,  and  the  "  humorous  "  or  playful.  The  rheto- 
rical styles  intermediate  to  these,  are  the  "  serious  "  and  the  "  ani- 
mated." These  are  the  fairest  average  representatives  of  plain 
expression,  as  it  usually  occurs  in  conversation  and  discourse :  they 
serve  also  to  exemplify  the  common  forms  of  narrative  and  descrip- 
tive writing. 

Close  attention  and  a  discriminating  ear,  are  required,  to  keep  the 

pitch  exactly  true,  in  such  examples  as  the  following.     The  least 

eviafcwr  of  voice,  downward  or  upward  on  the  scale,  interferes  with 


PITCH.  109 

the  appropriate  utterance  of  sentiment ;  making  the  expression  either 
too  grave  or  too  light.  The  practice  of  these  examples  should  be 
accompanied  by  frequent  repetition  of  the  elements  and  of  detached 
col nmns  of  words,  with  a  view  to  fix  permanently  in  the  ear,  tho 
proper  note  of  middle  pitch,  whether  in  "  serious"  or  in  "  animated" 
utterance.  The  former  is,  of  course,  somewhat  lower  on  the  scale 
than  the  latter :  the  exact  degree  depends  on  the  shades  of  expression 
in  particular  passages. 

EXAMPLES     OF    "  MIDDLE  "    PITCH. 

Serious  Didactic  Style. 

(*•  Pine  Tone :"  "  Moderate  "  force  :  "  Unimpassioned  radical,"  and 
gentle  "  median  stress." 

Pleasures  of  Knowledge. — Alison. 

"  How  different  is  the  view  of  past  life,  in  the  man  who  is 
grown  old  in  knowledge  and  wisdom,  from  that  of  him-who 
is  grown  old  in  ignorance  and  folly !  The  latter  is  like  the 
owner  of  a  barren  country,  that  fills  his  eye  with  the  prospect 
of  naked  hills  and  plains,  which  produce  nothing^-either 
profitable  or  ornamental :  the  former- beholds  a  beautiful  ana 
spacious  landscape,  divided  into  delightful  gardens,  green 
meadows,x  and  fruitful  fields,  and  can  scarce  cast  his  eye  on  a 
single  spot  of  his  possessions,  that  is  not  covered  w:th  some 
beautiful  plant  or  flower." 

Serious  Narrative. 
("  Quality,"  "  force,"  and  "  stress,"  as  in  the  preceding  example.) 

Anecdote. 

"  Raleigh's  cheerfulness,  during  his  last  days,  was  so 
great,  and  his  fearlessness  of  death-so  marked,  that  the  dean 
of  Westminster-^vho  attended  him,  wondering  at  his  deport- 
ment,  reprehended  the  lightness  of  his  manner.  But  Raleigh 
gave  God  thanks-that  he  had  never  feared  death ;  for  it  was 
but  an  opinion  and  an  imagination  ;  and,  as  for  the  manner 
of  death,  he  had  rather  die  so- than  in  a  burning  fever ;  that 
some  might  have  made  shows  outwardly ;  but  he  felt  the  joy 
within." 

10 


110  ORTHOPHONY. 

Serious  Description. 

("  Quality,"  &c,  as  before.) 

A  Scene  of  Arab  Life. — Anonymous. 

tf  All  that  has  been  related-concerning  the  passion  for  tales, 
which  distinguishes  the  Arabs,  is  literally  true.  During  the 
night  which  we  passed  on  the  shore  of  the  Dead  Sea,  we 
observed  our  Bethlehemites-scated  around  a  large  fire^-with 
their  guns  laid  near  them  on  the  ground,  while  their  horses, 
fastened  to  stakes,  formed  a  kind  of  circle  about  them. 
These  Arabs,  after  having  taken  their  coffee,  and  conversed 
for  some  time  with  great  earnestness,  and  with  their  usual 
loquacity,  observed  a  strict  silence  when  the  sheik  began  his 
tale.  We  could,  by  the  light  of  the  fire,  distinguish  his  sig- 
nificant gestures,  his  black  beard,  his  white  teetrT,  and  the 
various  plaits  and  positions  which  he  gave  to  his  tunic, 
during  the  recital.  His  companions-listened  to  him  with  th& 
most  profound  attention;  all  of  them  with  their  bodies  bent 
forward,  and  their  faces  over  the  flame,  alternately  sending 
forth  shouts  of  admiration,  and  repeating,  with  great  empha- 
sis, the  gestures  of  the  historian.  The  heads  of  some  few  of 
their  horses  and  camels,  wrere  occasionally  seen  elevated 
above  the  group,  and  shadowing,  as  it  were,  the  picture. 
When  to  these  was  added  a  glimpse  of  the  scenery  about  the 
Dead  Sea  and  the  mountains  of  Judea,  the  whole  effect  wa? 
striking  and  fanciful,  in  the  highest  degree." 

Serious  Conversational  Style. 

Idleness.  — Addison. 

"  An  idle  man  is  a  kind  of  monster  in  the  creation.  AH 
nature  is  busy  about  him :  every  animal  he  sees,  reproacnes 
him.  Let  such  a  man,  who  lies  as  a  burden  or  dead  weight 
upon  the  species,  and  contributes  nothing  either  to  the  riches 
of  the  commonwealth,  or  to  the  maintenance  of  himself  and 
family,  consider  that  instinct  with  which  Providence  haa 
endowed  the  ant,  and  by  which  is  exhibitei  an  example  of 
industry  to  rational  creatures." 


PITCH.  Ill 

1  Animated  Narrative  Style. 

('  Pure  Tone:"  "Moderate"  force:  Vivid  "  radical  stress.") 

Julius  Cjesaii. — J.  S.  Knoroh*. 

k  To  forrri  an  idea  of  Caesar's  energy  and  activity,  observe 
him  when  he  is  surprised  by  the  Nervii.  His  soldiers  are 
employed  in  pitching  their  camp.  —  The  ferocious  enemy 
sallies  from  his  concealment,  puts  the  Roman  cavalry  to  the 
rou%  and  falls  upon  the  foot.  Everything  is  alarm,  confu- 
sion, and  disorder.  Every  one  is  doubtful  what  course  to 
take,  —  everyone  but  Caesar!  He  causes  the  banner  to  be 
erected,  —  the  charge  to  be  sounded,  —  the  soldiers  at  a  dis- 
tance to  be  recalled,  —  all  in  a  moment.  He  runs  from  place 
to  place; — his  whole  frame  is  in  action; — his  words,  his 
looks,  his  motions,  his  gestures,  exhort  his  men  to  remember 
their  former  valor.  He  draws  them  up,  and  causes  the  sig- 
nal to  be  given,  —  all  in  a  moment.  The  contest  is  doubtful 
and  dreadful :  two  of  his  legions  are  entirely  surrounded. 
He  seizes  a  buckler  from  one  of  the  private  men, — puts  him- 
self at  the  head  of  his  broken  troops,  —  darts  into  the  thick 
of  the  battle, — rescues  his  legions,  and  overthrows  the 
enemy ! " 

Animated  "Description. 

("  Pure  Tone :"  "  Moderate  "  force :  Vivid  "  median  stress.") 

Phenomena  of  the  Universe. — Anonymous. 

u  The  physical  universe  may  be  regarded  as  exhibiting,  at 
once,  all  its  splendid  varieties  of  events,  and  uniting,  as  it 
were,  in  a  single  moment,  the  wonders  of  eternity.  Com- 
bine, by  your  imagination,  all  the  fairest  appearances  of 
things.  Suppose  that  you  see,  at  once,  all  the  hours  of  the 
day,  and  all  the  seasons  of  the  year,  a  morning  of  spring  and 
a  morning  of  autumn,  a  night  brilliant  with  stars,  and  a  night 
obscure  with  clouds,  — meadows,  enamelled  with  flowers, — 
fields,  waving  with  harvests, — woods,  heavy  with  the  frosts 

1  The  vividness  of  effect  in  this  style,  raises  the  pitch  obove  that  of 
"serious"  narrative:  the  prevailing  note,  however, is  still  as  ir  conversatioa 
near  the  middle  of  the  scale. 


112  ORTHOPHONY. 

of  winter; — you  will  then  have  a  just  notion  of  the  spectacle 
of  the  universe.  Is  it  not  wondrous>  that  while  you  are 
admiring  the  sun  plunging  beneath  the  vault  of  the  west, 
another  observer  is  beholding  him  as  he  quits  the  region  of 
the  east,  —  in  the  same  instant  reposing,  weary,  from  the  dust 
of  the  evening,  and  awaking,  fresh  and  youthful,  in  the  dews 
of  morn !  There  is  not  a  moment  of  the  day  in  which  the 
same  sun  is  not  rising,  shining  in  his  zenith,  and  setting  on 
the  world !  Or,  rather,  our  senses  abuse  us :  and  there  is  no 
rising,  nor  setting,  nor  zenith,  nor  east,  nor  west ;  but  all  is 
one  fixed  point,  at  which  every  species  of  light  is  beaming,  at 
once,  from  the  unalterable  orb  of  day." 

Animated  Didactic  Style,  in  Conversation. 

("  Pure  Tone :"  "  Moderate  "  force  :  "  Unimpassioned  radical,"  and 
lively  "median  stress.") 

Imaginary  Happiness. — I 


"  People  imagine  they  should  be  happy  in  circumstances 
which  they  would  find  insupportably  burdensome  in  less 
than  a  week.  A  man  that  has  been  clothed  in  fine  linen, 
and  fared  sumptuously  every  day,  envies  the  peasant  under 
a  thatched  hovel ;  who,  in  return,  envies  him  as  much  his 
palace  and  his  pleasure-grounds.  Could  they  exchange  situ- 
ations, the  fine  gentleman  would  find  his  ceilings  were  too 
low,  and  that  his  casements  admitted  too  much  wind ;  that 
he  had  no  cellar  for  his  wine,  and  no  wine  to  put  in  his  cel- 
lar. These  with  a  thousand  other  mortifying  deficiencies 
woud  shatter  his  romantic  project  into  innumerable  frag 
ments  in  a  moment.' ' 

Animated  Didactic  Style,  in  Public  Discourse. 

("Expulsive  Orotund:"  "  Moderate "  force :  Energetic  " radical ' 
and  "  median  stress.") 

Virtue.  — Fawcett. 

"  Blood,  says  the  pride  of  life,  is  more  honorable  thai< 
money.      Indigent  nobility  looks  down  upon  untitled  opu 


PITCH.  113 

»ence.  This  sentiment,  pushed  a  little  farther,  leads  to  the 
point  I  am  pursuing.  Mind  is  the  noblest  part  of  man ;  and 
of  mind,  virtue  is  the  noblest  distinction. 

"Ho?iest  man,  in  the  ear  of  Wisdom,  is  a  grander  name,  is 
a  more  high-sounding  title,  than  peer  of  the  realm,  or  prince 
of  the  blood.  According  to  the  eternal  rules  of  celestial  pre- 
cedency, in  the  immortal  heraldry  of  Nature  and  of  Heaven, 
Virtue  takes  place  of  all  things.  It  is  the  nobility  of  angels ! 
It  is  the  majesty  of  God ! " 

11.     "Low"  Pitch. 

This  designation  applies  to  the  utterance  of  those  feelings 
which  we  are  accustomed  to  speak  of  as  "  deeper  "  than  ordi- 
nary. Low  notes  seem  the  only  natural  language  of  grave 
emotions,  such  as  accompany  deeply  serious  and  impressive 
thoughts,  grave  authority,  or  austere  manner. 

The  transition  in  the  voice,  from  "  middle  "  to  "  low  "  pitch  would 
be  exemplified  in  passing  from  the  utterance  of  a  thought  which  is 
merely  serious, — and  so  termed  in  contradistinction,  rather  to  one  of 
an  animated  and  sprightly  character,  —  to  that  of  one  still  deeper  in 
its  shade  of  feeling,  and  which  would  be  appropriately  termed  grave. 
At  the  stage  of  voice  expressive  of  the  latter,  we  should  perceive  an 
obvious  though  not  very  strikingly  marked  deepening  of  tone,  or 
descent  on  the  scale. 

It  is  to  this  degree  of  depression  of  voice,  properly,  that  the  word 
Mow,"  in  its  connection  with  pitch,  is  applied,  in  elocution,  as  a 
technical  designation ;  there  being  still  lower  notes  of  the  scale 
implied  in  the  expression  of  those  emotions  which  are  still  deeper  in 
character  and  deeper  in  utterance. 

The  full  and  impressive  effect  of  a  sentiment,  particularly  in  cir- 
cumstances of  a  grave  character,  as  on  the  occasion  of  an  address  on 
topics  of  politics,  morals,  or  religion,  must  often  be  dependent  on 
appropriate  gravity  of  tone.  A  uniformly  grave  tone,  even  in  public 
reading  or  speaking,  becomes,  it  is  true,  dull  and  uninteresting.  But 
the  absence  of  a  due  degree  and  application  of  it,  divests  public 
speaking  of  dignity  and  authoritative  effect,  and  deprives  deep  senti- 
ment of  its  impressive  power  over  the  mind.  The  "  grave  "  sty  .-a 
carried  too  low,  becomes  "solemn,"  —  a  fault  in  consequence  of 
which  the  lawyer  and  the  popular  orator  sometimes  seem  to  usurp 
the  tone  of  the  pulpit,  and  the  preacher  to  lose  the  vocal  and  the 
moral  power  which  comes  from  touching  distinctly  all  the  chords  of 
sacred  eloquence,  and  not  dwelling  exclusively  upon  one.  There  ia 
more  than  a  mere  music  to  the  ear,  in  the  skill  with  which  a  prac- 
tised elocutionist  leads  his  own  voice  and  the  svmpathies  of  his 
10* 


114  ORTHOPHONY. 

audience,  as  they  glide  gradually  but  perceptibly  down  the  succes 
sive  stages  of  emotion,  from  serious  attention,  to  grave  listening,  and 
solemn  impression. 

The  attainment  of  a  perfect  control  over  "  pitch,"  renders  the  prac- 
tice of  all  its  gradations  highly  important,  ^The  following  examples 
require  attentive  practice  in  conjunction  with  the  repetition  of  the 
elements  and  of  words  selected  from  the  exercises  in  enunciation. 


EXAMPLES    OF    "  LOW "   PITCH. 

Grave  and  Impressive  Thought. 

("  Pure  tone :"  "  Moderate"  force  :   "  Unimpassioned  radical"  and 
moderate  "median  stress.") 

Age. — Godman. 

44  Now  comes  the  autumn  of  life, — the  season  of  *  the  sere 
and  yellow  leaf/  The  suppleness  and  mobility  of  the  limbs 
diminish ;  the  senses  are  less  acute ;  and  the  impressions  of 
external  objects  are  less  remarked.  The  fibres  of  the  body 
grow  more  rigid ;  the  emotions  of  the  mind  are  more  calm 
and  uniform ;  the  eye  loses  its  lustrous  keenness  of  expres- 
sion. The  mind  no  longer  roams  abroad  with  its  original 
excursiveness :  the  power  of  imagination  is,  in  great  degree, 
lost.  Experience  has  robbed  external  objects  of  their  illusive- 
ness  :  the  thoughts  come  home  :  it  is  the  age  of  reflection. — 
It  is  the  period  in  which  we  receive  the  just  tribute  of  venera- 
tion and  confidence  from  our  fellow-men,  if  we  have  so  lived 
as  to  deserve  it,  and  are  entitled  to  the  respect  and  confidence 
of  the  younger  part  of  mankind,  in  exact  proportion  to  the 
manner  in  which  our  own  youth  has  been  spent,  and  our 
maturity  improved." 

Grave,  Austere,  Authoritative  Manner. 

("Expulsive   orotund:"   "Declamatory"   force:    Firm  "median 
stress.") 

Cato   [in  reply  to  Cjesar's  Message  through  Decius.] — Addison. 

"  My  life  is  grafted  on  the  fate  of  Rome. 
Would  he  save  Cato,  bid  him  spare  his  country 
Bid  him  disband  his  legions, 


PITCH.  115 

Restore  the  commonwealth  to  liberty, 
Submit  his  actions  to  the  public  censure, 
And  stand  the  judgment  of  a  Roman  senate. — 
Bid  him  do  this,  and  Cato  is  his  friend." 

III.     "Very  Low"  Pitch. 

This  designation  applies  to  the  notes  of  those  emotions 
which  are  of  the  deepest  character,  and  which  are  accord- 
ingly associated  with  the  deepest  utterance.  These  are, 
chiefly,  the  following:  deep  solemnity,  awe,  amazement, 
horror,  despair,  melancholy,  and  deep  grief. 

The  exceedingly  "  low  pitch  "  of  these  and  similar  states  of  feel 
ing,  is  one  of  those  universal  facts  which  necessarily  become  laws  of 
vocal  expression,  and,  consequently,  indispensable  rules  of  elocution. 
Any  passage,  strongly  marked  by  the  language  of  one  of  these  emo- 
tions, becomes  utterly  inexpressive  without  its  appropriate  deep 
notes.  Yet  this  fault  is  one  of  the  most  prevalent  in  reading, 
especially  with  youth.  That  absence  of  deep  and  powerful  emotion 
of  an  expressive  character  and  active  tendency,  which  usually  char- 
acterizes the  habits  of  the  student's  life,  often  leaves  a  great  defi- 
ciency in  this  element  of  vocal  effect,  even  in  individuals  who  habit- 
ually drop  into  the  fault  of  a  slackness  of  organic  action  which 
causes  too  low  a  pitch  in  serious  or  in  grave  style.  The  "very 
low  "  pitch  is  not  a  mere  accidental  or  mechanical  result :  it  requires 
the  aid  of  the  will,  and  a  special  exertion  of  organ,  to  produce  it. 

This  lowest  form  of  pitch  is  one  of  the  most  impressive  means  of 
powerful  natural  effect,  in  the  utterance  of  all  deep  and  impressive 
emotions.  The  pervading  and  absorbing  effect  of  awe,  amazement, 
horror,  or  any  similar  feeling,  can  never  be  produced  without  low 
pitch  and  deep  successive  notes ;  and  the  depth  and  reality  of  such 
emotions  are  always  in  proportion  to  the  depth  of  voice  with  which 
they  are  uttered.  The  grandest  descriptions  in  the  Paradise  Lost, 
and  the  profoundest  meditations  in  the  Night  Thoughts,  become 
trivial  in  their  effect  on  the  ear,  when  read  with  the  ineffectual 
expression  inseparable  from  the  pitch  of  ordinary  conversation  or  dis- 
course. 

The  vocal  deficiency  which  limits  the  range  of  expression  to  the 
middle  and  higher  notes  of  the  scale,  is  not,  by  any  means,  the 
unavoidable  and  necessary  fault  of  organization,  as  it  is  so  generally 
supposed  to  be.  Habit  is  in  this,  as  in  so  many  other  things,  the 
cause  of  defect.  There  is  truth,  no  doubt,  in  the  remark  so  often 
made  in  defence  of  a  high  and  feeble  voice,  that  it  is  natural  to  the 
individual,  or  that  it  is  difficult  for  some  readers  to  attain  to  depth  of 
voice  witbout  incurring  a  false  and  forced  style  of  utterance.  But, 
in  most  cases,  it  is  habit,  not  organization,  that  has  made  certain 
notes  natural  or  unnatural,  —  in  other  words,  familiar  to  the  ear,  01 


116  ORTHOPHONY. 

the  reverse.  The  neglect  of  the  lower  notes  of  the  scale,  and,  con- 
sequently, of  the  organic  action  by  which  they  are  produced,  maj 
render  a  deep-toned  utterance  less  easy  than  it  would  otherwise  be. 
But  most  teachers  of  elocution  are,  from  day  to  day,  witnesses  to  the 
fact,  that  students,  from  the  neglect  of  muscular  action,  and  from  all 
the  other  enfeebling  causes  involved  in  sedentary  habits  and  intellec- 
tual application,  sometimes  commence  a  course  of  practice,  with  a 
high-pitched,  thin,  and  feminine  voice,  which  seems  at  first  incapable 
of  expressing  a  grave  or  manly  sentiment,  and,  in  some  instances, 
appears  to  forbid  the  individual  from  ever  attempting  the  utterance 
of  a  solemn  thought,  lest  his  treble  tone  should  make  the  effect 
ridiculous ;  but  that  a  few  weeks'  practice  of  vocal  exercise  on  bass 
notes  and  deep  emotions,  as  embodied  in  rightly  selected  exercises, 
often  enables  such  readers  to  acquire  a  round  and  deep-toned  utter- 
ance, adequate  to  the  fullest  effects  of  impressive  eloquence. 

The  exercise  of  singing  bass,  if  cultivated  as  an  habitual  practice, 
has  a  great,  effect  in  imparting  command  of  deep-toned  expression,  in 
reading  and  speaking.  Reading  and  reciting  passages  from  Milton 
and  from  Young,  and  particularly  from  the  Book  of  Psalms,  or  from 
hymns  of  a  deeply  solemn  character,  are  exercises  of  great  value  for 
securing  the  command  of  the  lower  notes  of  the  voice. 

The  practice  of  the  following  examples  should  be  accompanied  by 
copious  exercises  on  the  elements,  and  on  words  selected  for  the  pur- 
pose. These  exercises  shouR  be  repeated  till  the  student  can,  at 
any  moment,  strike  the  appropriate  note  of  awe  or  solemnity,  with  as 
much  certainty  as  the  vocalist  can  execute  any  note  of  the  scale 


EXAMPLES   OF    "VERY   LOW"   PITCH. 

Deep  Solemnity,  Sublimity,  and  Awe 

Cato,  [in  Soliloquy.] — Addison, 

((t  Effusive  and  Expulsive  orotund :"  "Subdued  and  Suppressec 
force :  "  Median  stress.") 

"  It  must  be  so  ; — Plato,  thou  reasonest  well ! 

Else,  whence  this  pleasing  hope,  this  fond  desire 

This  longing  after  immortality  ? 

Or  whence  this  secret  dread,  and  inward  horror, 

Of  falling  into  nought  ?     Why  shrinks  the  soul 

Back  on  herself,  and  startles  at  destruction  ? 

*T  is  the  Divinity  that  stirs  within  us : 

'T  is  Heaven  itself  that  points  out  an  hereafter, 

And  intimates  Eternity  to  man. 

Eternity! — thou  pleasing, — dreadful  thought! 

Through  what  variety  of  untried  being, 


PITCH.  117 

Thiough  what  new  scenes  and  changes  must  wc  pass ! 
The  wide,  the  unbounded  prospect  lies  before  me ; 
But  shadows,  clouds,  and  darkness,  rest  upon  it." 

Awe,  Dismay,  and  Despair, 

("Aspirated  pectoral  Quality :"  "  Suppressed' '   force:  "Median 

stress.") 

The  Pestilence. — Porteou* 

"  At  dead  of  night, 
In  sullen  silence  stalks  forth  Pestilence  : 
Contagion,  close  behind,  taints  all  her  steps 
With  poisonous  dew :  no  smiting  hand  is  seen ; 
No  sound  is  heard ;  but  soon  her  secret  path 
Is  marked  with  desolation :  heaps  on  heaps 
Promiscuous  drop.     No  friend,  no  refuge,  near : 
All,  all  is  false  and  treacherous  around, 
All  that  they  touch,  or  taste,  or  breathe,  is  Death  f " 

Deep  Grief. 

Affliction  and  Desolation. — Young. 

("Effusive  and   expulsive  orotund:"   "Impassioned"  and  "sub- 
dued" force  :  "  Vanishing  "  and  "  median  stress.") 

"  In  every  varied  posture,  place,  and  hour, 
How  widowed  every  thought  of  every  joy ! 
Thought,  busy  thought !  too  busy  for  my  peace ! 
Through  the  dark  postern  of  time  long  elapsed. 
Led  softly,  by  the  stillness  of  the  night, 
Led  like  a  murderer,  (and  such  it  proves !)  ] 
Strays,  (wretched  rover !)  o'er  the  pleasing  past : 
In  quest  of  wretchedness  perversely  strays, 
And  finds  all  desert  now ! " 

IV.     "High"  Pitch. 

The  analysis  of  vocal  expression,  as  regards  the  effect  of  "pitch," 
leads  us  now  to  the  study  of  those  modes  of  utterance  which  lie  above 
the  middle,  or  ordinary,  level  of  the  voice. 

The  higher  portion  of  the  musical  scale  is  associated  with 


1 18  ORTHOPHONY. 

the  notes  of  brisk,  gay,  and  joyous  emotions,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  extremes  of  pain,  grief,  and  fear,  which,  from  their 
preternaturally  exciting  power,  compress  and  render  rigid 
the  organic  parts  that  produce  vocal  sound,  and  cause  the 
peculiarly  shrill,  convulsive  cries  and  shrieks  which  express 
those  passions. 

Tracing  the  voice  upward,  as  it  ascends  from  the  usual  pitch  of 
"serious"  or  of  "  animated  expression,"  we  observe  it  obviously 
rise,  when  it  passes  from  the  "  animated,"  or  lively,  to  the  "  gay" 
or  brisk  style,  which  implies  a  positive  exhilaration,  or  vivid  excite- 
ment of  the  animal  spirits.  Cheerfulness  will  suffice  to  produce 
"  animation;"  but  joy  is  requisite  to  cause  "  gaiety."  THe  proper- 
ties of  voice,  in  the  utterance  of  these  feelings,  are  correspondent  to 
their  gradations  of  sensibility.  "  Animation"  is  expressed  by  "  pure 
tone,"  "  unimpassioned  radical  stress,"  and  "  middle  pitch  :"  gaiety, 
by  ''expulsive  orotund,"  vivid  "radical  and  median  stress,"  and 
"high  pitch." 

The  command  over  "  pitch,"  in  its  application  to  joyous  emotions 
is  not,  it  is  true,  of  so  much  importance  to  the  public  speaker,  as  the 
power  of  adopting  the  appropriate  tone  of  serious,  grave,  and  solemn 
feeling.  It  is,  however,  an  indispensable  accomplishment  in  elocu- 
tion, for  the  purposes  of  private  and  social  reading ;  as  much  of  the 
pleasure,  as  well  as  the  true  effect,  of  expression,  in  the  reading  of 
pieces  adapted  to  the  parlor,  and  the  family  or  the  social  circle, 
depends  on  the  vivid  utterance  and  comparatively  high  pitch  which 
occasionally  prevail  in  the  appropriate  style  of  such  reading ;  since  it 
is  not  unfrequently  marked  by  gay  delineation  and  high-wrought 
graphic  effect  of  incident,  description,  and  sentiment. 

A  "  pitch  "  too  low  for  the  natural  effect  of  gay  and  exhilarated 
feeling  deadens  the  effect  of  wit  and  vivacity,  and  renders,  perhaps,  a 
most  expressive  strain  of  composition,  tame  and  dull,  when  it  should 
abound  in  the  tones  of  life  and  brilliancy. 

Juvenile  readers,  from  diffidence,  often  withhold  the  true  effect  of 
the  voice  in  the  reading  of  scenes  of  gaiety  and  joyousness,  by  allow 
ing  the  pitch  to  remain  too  low.  The  gravity  and  austerity  of  the 
student's  life,  incline  him  to  the  same  mode  of  utterance,  as  a  habit, 
and  hence  impair  that  freshness  of  effect,  even  in  serious  communi- 
cation which  comes  from  the  frequent  practice  of  utterance  in  strains 
of  joy  and  gaiety.  The  proverbial  dulness  arising  from  "  all  work 
and  no  play,"  is  felt  nowhere  more  deeply  than  in  the  habits  of  the 
voice.  Long-continued,  intense  mental  application,  betrays  itself 
uniformly,  in  a  tendency  to  hollow,  "pectoral"  tone;  and  the 
uniform  "  drowsy  bass  "  of  some  public  speakers,  is  but  the  uncon- 
scious yielding  to  this  natural  effect. 

To  give  the  voice  suppleness,  pliancy,  and  mobility,  much  atten- 
tion must  be  bestowed  on  practice  for  the  regulation  of  pitch.  The 
following  examples  should  be  carefully  repeated  in  conjunction  with 
the  elements  and  detached  words,  till  the  "  high  pitch  "  of  joy  is  per- 
fectly at  command. 


PITCH.  J 1  9 

EXAMPLES   OF   "HIGH"   PITCH. 

Gay,  or  brisk,  style, 

Joy. 

From  the  Voice  of  Spring. — Mrs.  Hemans. 

\%t  Expulsive  orotund  :"  "  Impassioned  "  force :  "  Median  stress,  *\ 

*  I  come  !    I  come  !  —  ye  have  called  me  long : 
I  come  o'er  the  mountains  with  light  and  song! 
Ye  may  trace  my  step  o'er  the  wakening  earth, 
By  the  winds  which  tell  of  the  violet's  birth, 
By  the  primrose  stars  in  the  shadowy  grass, 
By  the  green  leaves  opening  as  I  pass. 

"  From  the  streams  and  founts  I  have  loosed  the  chain ' 
They  are  sweeping  on  to  the  silvery  main, — 
They  are  flashing  down  from  the  mountain  brows, — 
They  are  flinging  spray  o'er  the  forest-boughs, — 
They  are  bursting  fresh  from  their  sparry  caves  ;— 
And  the  earth  resounds  with  the  joy  of  waves !" 

Exultation. 

From  the  Hymn  of  the  Stars. — Bryani. 

(a  Quality,"  force,  and  "  stress,"  as  before,  but  more  fully  given.) 

"  Away,  away !  through  the  wide,  wide  sky, — 
The  fair  blue  fields  that  before  us  lie, — 
Each  sun  with  the  worlds  that  round  him  roll, 
Each  planet,  poised  on  her  turning  pole, 
With  her  isles  of  green,  and  her  clouds  of  whitei 
And  her  waters  that  lie  like  fluid  light ! 

"  For  the  source  of  glory  uncovers  his  face, 
And  the  brightness  o'erflows  unbounded  space ; 
And  we  drink,  as  we  go,  the  luminous  tides 
In  our  ruddy  air  and  our  blooming  sides : 
Lo !  yonder  the  living  splendors  play ! 
Away !  on  our  joyous  path  away ! 


1 20  ORTHOPHONY. 

V. 
"  Away,  away  !  — In  our  blossoming  bowers, 

In  the  soft  air  wrapping  these  spheres  of  ours, 

In  the  seas  and  fountains  that  shine  with  morn, 

See  Love  is  brooding,  and  Life  is  born ; 

And  breathing  myriads  are  breaking  from  night, 

To  rejoice  like  us,  in  motion  and  light!" 

V.     "Very  High"  Pitch. 

The  extreme  of  the  upper  part  of  the  musical  scale,  as  far 
as  it  is  practicable  to  individuals,  in  the  management  of  the 
voice,  is  the  natural  range  of  pitch  for  the  utterance  of  ecstatic 
and  rapturous  or  uncontrollable  emotion.  It  belongs,  accord- 
ingly, to  high-wrought  lyric  and  dramatic  passages,  in  strains 
oi  joy,  grief,  astonishment,  delight,  tenderness,  and  the  hyster- 
ical extremes  of  passionate  emotion  generally. 

As  the  appropriate  utterance  of  excessive  feeling,  the  "  extremely 
high  pitch  "  is  not  so  important  for  the  general  purposes  of  elocu- 
tion, as  the  "middle"  or  the  "high."  Passages  requiring  this 
mode  of  expression  must  obviously  be  of  comparatively  rare  occur- 
rence. It  is  not  less  true,  however,  that  the  peculiar  beauty,  or 
power,  or  natural  effect,  of  a  strain  of  poetry,  may  depend,  for  its 
true  expression,  on  the  command  which  the  reader  or  reciter  pos- 
sesses over  this  element  of  voice.  It  is  equally  certain  that  practice 
and  discipline  on  the  uppermost  notes  of  the  scale,  give  the  voice 
great  pliancy,  on  the  range  immediately  below ;  and  that  the  frequent 
repetition  of  the  highest  note  which  the  student  can  command,  is  one 
of  the  most  efficacious  means  of  imparting  firm,  clear,  and  well- 
compacted  tone. 

The  following  examples,  together  with  the  elements  and  selected 
words,  should  be  repeated,  as  daily  exercises,  for  the  purpose  of 
training  the  organs  to  easy  execution  on  high  notes. 

EXAMPLES   OF   "VERY   HIGH"   PITCH. 

Ecstatic  Joy. 

[SONO   OP   THE   VaLKYRIUR,   OR   FATAL     SlSTERS,   TO   THE   DOOMED    WAR 

rior.]  — Mrs.  Hemans. 

("  Expulsive  Orotund  :"  "  Sustained  "  force  of  calling  and  shouting  ■ 
"  Median  stress.") 

"  Lo !  the  mighty  sun  looks  forth ! — 
Aim  !  thou  leader  of  the  north  ! 


PITCH.  121 

Lo !  the  mists  of  twilight  fly — 
We  must  vanish,  thou  must  die ! 

"  By  the  sword,  and  by  the  spear, 
By  the  hand  that  knows  not  fear, 
Sea-king  !  nobly  shalt  thou  fall ! 
There  is  joy  in  Odin's  hall ! " 

Astonishment. 

Dromio  of  Syracuse,  [on  his  being  mistaken  for  his  brother.]  — 
Shdkspeare. 

("Expulsive   Orotund:"   "Impassioned"  force:   "Thorough 
<        stress.") 

"  This  drudge  laid  claim  to  me ;  called  me  Dromio ;  swore 
I  was  assured  to  her ;  told  me  what  private  marks  I  had  about 
me,  as  the  mark  of  my  shoulder,  the  mole  in  my  neck,  the 
great  wart  on  my  left  arm, — that  I,  amazed,  ran  from  her  as 
a  witch ;  and  I  think,  if  my  breast  had  not  been  made  of  faith, 
and  my  heart  of  steel,  she  had  transformed  me  to  a  curtail- 
dog,  and  made  me  turn  i'  the  wheel." 

To  attain  a  perfect  command  of  "  pitch,"  as  an  element  of  expres- 
sion, it  will  be  a  useful  exercise,  to  review,  in  close  succession,  all 
the  examples  of  "  pitch,"  and  to  add,  at  each  stage,  a  repetition 
of  the  elements  and  of  words.  The  student  who  can  borrow  the  aid 
of  the  musical  scale,  will  derive  great  benefit  from  the  exactness 
which  it  will  impart  to  his  practice  ;  as  it  will  enable  him  to  observe 
and  to  remember  certain  notes  as  the  appropriate  pitch  for  natural 
and  impressive  reading,  in  passages  characterized  by  given  emotions. 
The  habit  of  analyzing  passages,  so  as  to  recognize  readily  their  pre- 
dominating feeling,  and,  consequently,  their  "  pitch,"  is  one  which 
every  earnest  student  of  elocution  will  cultivate  with  persevering  dil- 
igence, till  he  finds  himself  able,  from  a  single  glance  at  the  first  line 
of  a  piece,  to  determine  its  gradation  of  feeling,  and  its  true  note  in 
utterance. 

Besides  practising  the  examples  of"  pitch,"  in  the  order  in  which 
they  occur  in  the  preceding  pages,  it  will  contribute  much  to  facility 
in  changing  the  "  pitch"  of  the  voice,  if  the  student  will  vary  the 
order  of  the  examples,  so  as  to  become  accustomed  to  pass  easily 
from  one  point  of  the  scale  to  another,  —  as  from  highest  to  lowest, 
and  the  reverse.  The  practice  of  the  elements  and  of  words,  should 
always  be  added  to  the  repetition  of  the  examples. 
11 


122  ORTHOPHONY. 

"TRANSITION"   IN   PITCH. 

The  paucity  of  terms  in  our  language,  fcr  the  various  phenomena 
of  voice,  has  laid  writers  on  elocution  under  an  imagined  necessity 
of  using  some  words,  borrowed  from  other  sciences  or  arts,  in  a 
manner  not  consistent  with  scientific  accuracy  of  expression.  Thus, 
the  word  "  modulation,"  which  has  an  exact  meaning  in  music,  has 
been  used  in  elocution,  in  an  irregular  manner,  to  designate  the  observ- 
ance of  the  difference  of  pilch,  in  the  utterance  of  emotions,  as  they 
occur  successively  in  reading  or  speaking.  Popular,  and  even  repu- 
table usage,  has  sanctioned  this  application  of  the  term.  But  as  it 
tends  to  create  confusion  of  ideas,  when  it  is  used  in  certain  relations 
to  elocution  which  regard  the  "  melody  "  of  the  component  parts  of 
sentences,  it  would  be  better,  perhaps,  to  regard  the  transitions  of 
the  voice  from  one  strain  to  another,  in  consecutive  reading,  as 
merely  the  necessary  assumption  of  a  new  "  pitch,"  adapted  to  each 
successive  emotion,  and  being  nothing  else,  as*  a  vocal  accomplish- 
ment, than  skill  in  instancy  striking  a  given  note  of  the  scale. 

A  passage  of  composition,  in  prose  or  verse,  used  as  an  exercise 
in  reading,  may  be  marked  to  the  ear  by  one  prevalent  tone  of  feel- 
ing, which  allows  or  requires  little  or  no  variation  of  voice,  and,  con- 
sequently, as  little  transition  from  one  note  of  the  scale  to  another 
We  find  one  piece,  as  Milton's  Allegro,  for  example,  pervaded  by 
the  expressive  tones,  and  "high"  notes,  and  consequent  "high 
pitch,"  of  Joy  throughout,  —  another,  as  the  same  author's  Pense- 
roso,  marked  by  the  prevalence  of  the  style  of  grave  musing  and 
poetic  melancholy,  with  their  appropriate  expression  in  "  low  "  notes, 
and,  therefore,  "  low  pitch." 

Other  compositions  are  characterized  by  great  and  frequent  transi 
tions  of  feeling  and  of  utterance,  and  consequently  by  corresponding 
high  or  low  notes,  and  the  frequent  transition  from  one  to  the  other. 
It  is  to  these  changes  of  voice  that  the  term  "modulation"  has 
sometimes  been  arbitrarily  applied  ;  and  it  is  to  the  department  of 
elocution  sometimes  designated  by  this  term,  that  we  now  proceed  in 
our  analysis. 

This  branch  of  our  subject  is  one  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the 
student.  Without  the  power  of  easy  and  exact  accommodation  of 
voice  to  the  natural  "  pitch  "  of  every  successive  emotion  in  a  piece, 
there  can  be  no  such  thing  as  natural  or  impressive  reading.  But 
variation  of  "  pitch  "  is  a  topic  on  which  we  need  not  dwell ;  as  it  is> 
practically,  but  the  consecutive  application  of  the  same  functions  of 
voice  to  which  we  have  just 'been  attending  in  detached  and  separate 
instances.  Let  the  student  read  in  close  sequence,  and  with  perfect 
exactness  of  "  pitch,"  all  the  examples  given  under  that  head,  and 
he  will  have  necessarily  executed,  at  the  same  time,  an  extensive 
practice  in  "  transition  "  from  one  portion  of  the  scale  to  another,  as 
he  shifted  the  pitch  of  his  voice  in  passing  from  one  example  to 
another. 

A  piece  of  varied  topics  and  style,  in  prose  writing,  or  what  has 
been  termed  a  Pindaiic  ode,  in  lyric  poetry,  will  furnish,  by  its 
changing  character  of  thought  and  expression,  appropriate  occasiora 


PITCH.  123 

fb^  frequcr.t  and  great  transitions  on  the  scale,  as  \he  voice  passes 
from  the  utterance  of  one  strain  of  emotion  to  that  of  another. 


EXAMPLES   OF   "  TRANSITION "   IN   PITCH. 

1.    From  Joy  to  Grave  and  Pailxtic  Emotion. 

(From  "  High  "  to  "  Low  Pitch.") 

The  Voice  of  Spring.  — Mrs.  Hemans. 

"High." 

"  Away  from  the  dwellings  of  care-worn  men, 
The  waters  are  sparkling  in  grove  and  glen ! 
Away  from  the  chamber  and  sullen  hearth, 
The  young  leaves  are  dancing  in  breezy  mirth ! 
Their  light  stems  thrill  to  the  wild- wood  strains ; 
And  youth  is  abroad  in  my  green  domains !  — 

"Low." 

"  But  ye — ye  are  changed  since  ye  met  me  last ! 
There  is  something  bright  from  your  features  passed ! 
There  is  that  come  over  your  brow  and  eye, 
Which  speaks  of  a  world  where  the  flowers  must  die !  -• 
Ye  smile  !  but  your  smile  hath  a  dimness  yet :  — 
Oh !  what  have  ye  looked  on  since  last  we  met  ?  " 

2.     From  Horror  to  Tranquillity, 
(From  "  Very  Low  "  to  "  Middle  Pitch.") 
Stanzas  from  a  Russian  Poet. — Bomring. 

"  Very  Low" 

"  How  frightful  the  grave  !  how  deserted  and  drear ! 
With  the  howls  of  the  storm-wind,  the  creaks  of  the  bier, 
And  *he  white  bones  all  clattering  together ! 

"Middle  Pitch." 

"  How  peaceful  the  grave  !  its  quiet  how  deep : 
Its  zephyrs  breathe  calmly ;  and  soft  is  its  sleep ; 
And  flowrets  perfume  it  with  ether." 


124  ORTHOPHONY , 

3.    From  Rapture  to  Grief. 

(From  "  Very  High  "  to  "  Low  Pitch.") 

Stanzas  from  Mrs.  Hemans. 

M  Very  ITigh." 

*  Ring  joyous  chords  ! — ring  out  again ! 

A  swifter  still  and  a  wilder  strain ! 

And  bring  fresh  wreaths  !  —  we  will  banish  all 

Save  the  free  in  heart  from  our  festive  hall. 

On  through  the  maze  of  the  fleet  dance,  on  ! " — 

"Lew." 

11  But  where  are  the  young  and  the  lovely? — gor.e  r 
Where  are  the  brows  with  the  red  rose  crowned, 
And  the  floating  forms  with  the  bright  zone  bound  ? 
And  the  waving  locks  and  the  flying  feet, 
That  still  should  be  where  the  mirthful  meet? — 
They  are  gone  ! — they  are  fled,  they  are  parted  all :  — 
Alas  !  the  forsaken  hall ! " 

4  From  Triumph  and  Exultation,  to  Grave,  Pathetic,  ana 
Solemn  feeling,  and  thence  returning  to  Triumph  and 
Exultation. 

(From  "  High"  to  "  Low,"  and  thence  to  "  High  Pitch.") 

"  Mark  ye  the  flashing  oars, 

And  the  spears  that  light  the  deep  ? 

How  the  festal  sunshine  pours 
Where  the  lords  of  battle  sweep  ! 

"  Each  hath  brought  back  his  shield ; — 

Maid,  greet  thy  lover  home  ! 
Mother,  from  that  proud  field, 

Io  !  thy  son  is  come  ! " 

"Low." 

"  Who  murmured  of  the  dead  ? 
Hush  !  boding  voice.     We  know 


PITCH.  125 

That  many  a  shining  head 
Lies  in  its  glory  low. 

"  Breathe  not  those  names  to-day . 

They  shall  have  their  praise  ere  long, 
And  a  power  all  hearts  to  sway, 

In  ever-burning  song." 

"High:' 

"  But  now  shed  flowers,  pour  wine, 

To  hail  the  conquerors  home  ! 
Bring  wreaths  for  every  shrine  !  — 

Io  !  they  come,  they  come ! " 

5.  From  Tranquillity  to  Joy  and  Triumph,  Awe,  Scorn,  Awe, 
Horror,  Exultation,  Defiance,  Awe, — successively. 

[Israel's  Triumph  over  the  King  of  Babylon.] — Isaiah. 

[Tranquillity:  "Middle  Pitch:"]  "The  whole  earth  is 
at  rest,  and  is  quiet:  —  [Joy  and  Triumph:  "High  Pitch:"] 
they  break  forth  into  singing.  Yea,  the  fir-trees  rejoice  at 
thee,  and  the  cedars  of  Lebanon,  saying,  *  Since  thou  art  laid 
down,  no  feller  is  come  up  against  us.' — [Awe:  "Law 
Pitch ;"]  Hell  from  beneath  is  moved  for  thee,  to  meet  thee 
at  thy  coming :  it  stirreth  up  the  dead  for  thee,  even  all  the 
chief  ones  of  the  earth :  it  hath  raised  up  from  their  thrones 
all  the  kings  of  the  nations.  —  [Narrative:  "Middle Pitch :"] 
All  they  shall  speak,  and  say  unto  thee, — [Scorn:  "High 
Pitch :"]  *  Art  thou  also  become  weak  as  we  ?  Art  thou 
become  like  unto  us  V — [Awe :  "Low  Pitch :"]  ■  Thy  pomp 
is  brought  down  to  the  grave,  and  the  noise  of  thy  viols :' — ■ 
[Horror :  "  Very  Low  Pitch :"]  *  the  worm  is  spread  under 
thee,  and  the  worms  cover  thee.' — [Exultation:  "Middle 
Pitch :"]  *  How  art  thou  fallen  from  heaven,  O  Lucifer,  son 
of  the  morning !  how  art  thou  cut  down  to  the  ground,  which 
didst  weaken  the  nations !'  —  [Defiance:  "High  Pitch:"] 
i  For  thou  hast  said  in  thy  heart,  u  I  will  ascend  info  heaven,  I 
will  exalt  my  throne  above  the  stars  c"  God.  I  will  ascend 
11* 


126  ORTHOPHONY. 

above  the  heights  of  the  clouds;  I  will  be  like  the  Most 
High."— [Awe :  "Low  Pitch:"]  '  Yet  thou  shalt  be  brought 
down  to  hell,  to  the  sides  of  the  pit.' " 

11:3  same  "  transitions  "  of  "  pitch  M  which  occur  in  passing  from 
one  paragraph  or  stanza  to  another,  may  also  take  place  within  the 
limits  of  a  single  sentence,  if  the  feeling  obviously  changes  from  clause 
*o  clause,  — as  in  the  following  extract. 

Reverence  and  Awe. 
("  Low  pitch :"  rising  gradually  to  "  middle,"  in  the  fourth  lu.e.) 

Adoration.  —  Porteous. 

"  O  Thou !  whose  balance  does  the  mountains  weigh, 
Whose  will  the  wild  tumultuous  seas  obey, 
Whose  breath  can  turn  those  watery  worlds  to  flame, 
That  flame  to  tempest,  and  that  tempest  tame," — 

Deepest  Reverence  and  Awe. 
("Very  low  pitch.") 
"  Earth's  meanest  son,  all  trembling,  prostrate  falls, ' 

Reverence  and  Adoration. 
("  Low  pitch.") 
"  And  on  the  boundless  of  Thy  goodness  calls." 

Solemnity. 

(Pitch  still  lower.) 

"  May  sea  and  land,  and  earth  and  heaven  be  joined, 
To  bring  the  eternal  Author  to  my  mind ! " 

Awe. 

("Very  low  pitch.") 

"  When  oceans  roar,  or  thunders  roll, 

May  thoughts  of  Thy  dread  vengeance  shake  my  soul!' 

THE    "PHRASES"    OF   "SENTENTIAL   MELODY." 

If  we  bring  our  analysis  of  a  sentence  into  still  closer  distinctions 
of  melody  and  pitch,  we  pass  from  clauses  to  phrases.    The  "  melody 


PITCH.  12? 

A  phrases  and  their  relative  "  pitch,"  involve  topics  too  numerous 
and  too  intricate  for  discussion  in  an  elementary  work.  These  sub- 
jects will  be  found  fully  explained  in  the  work  of  Dr.  Rush.  We 
will  select  a  few  points  of  practical  application  and  of  primary  impor- 
tance. The  "  phrases  of  melody,"  in  a  sentence,  admit  of  being 
arranged  in  two  classes  :  —  1st,  those  which  prevail  in  the  body  of  a 
sentence  ;  2d,  that  which  occupies  the  last  three  syllables  of  a  sen- 
tence, and  forms  the  cadence.  The  former  is  termed  the  "  current 
melody  ;"  the  latter,  the  "  melody  of  the  cadence." 

The  investigation  of  melody  and  pitch,  in  phrases,  requires  atten- 
tion to  the  important  distinction  of  "discrete"  and  "concrete" 
sounds.  "  Discrete  "  sounds  consist  of  notes  produced  at  intervals, 
or  in  close  succession,  but  in  detached  and  distinct  forms,  as  in  run- 
ning up  or  down  the  keys  of  a  piano,  or  the  chords  of  a  harp ;  or 
producing  similar  sounds  on  a  violin,  by  twitching  the  strings  with 
the  finger,  instead  of  gliding  over  them  with  the  bow ;  or  in  the 
laughing  utterance  of  delighted  surprise,  as  when  we  laugh  a 
"  fifth  "  or  an  "  octave  "  up  the  scale,  on  the  interrogatory  interjec- 
tion "eh?"  or  when,  in  the  laughing  utterance  of  derision,  we  run 
down  the  scale,  in  the  same  way,  in  the  long-drawn  sound  of  the 
word  "no!"  In  these  last-mentioned  instances,  every  note  is 
executed  by  a  distinct  and  separate  little  jet,  or  tittle,  of  voice.  To 
such  sounds,  then,  the  word  "  discrete"  in  its  proper  etymological 
sense,  may  be  justly  applied,  as  intimating  that  they  exist  apart. 

"  Concrete  "  sounds,  on  the  other  hand,  are  produced  by  a  succes- 
sion of  notes  gliding  into  each  other  so  imperceptibly  to  the  ear,  that 
they  cannot  be  detached  from  each  other ;  as  when  the  violinist,  in 
playful  execution,  sometimes  makes  his  instrument  seem  to  hold  dia- 
logue, in  the  tones  of  question  and  answer,  by  drawing  the  bow 
across  the  strings,  while  he  slips  his  left  hand,  upward  and  down- 
ward, so  as  to  shorten  or  lengthen  the  strings,  and  thus  cause  the 
sounds  to  glide  up  or  down  the  scale,  in  one  continuous  stream  of 
"  mewing"  sound.  A  parallel  illustration  may  be  drawn  from  the 
natural  use  of  the  voice,  when  we  pronounce  the  interrogatory  "eh?" 
of  surprise,  in  a  serious  mood,  but  with  great  earnestness,  —  merely 
causing  the  voice  to  slide  smoothly  up  the  scale,  through  the  interval 
of  a  "  fifth  "  or  an  "  octave,"  or  when  we  utter  the  word  "no!"  in 
the  tone  of  full  and  bold  denial,  and  make  the  voice  sweep  continu- 
ously down  the  scale,  through  a  similar  interval. 

In  the  "  current  melody  "  of  a  sentence,  every  syllable  includes  a 
"radical"  and  a  "vanishing  movement,"  united,  which,  in  unim- 
passioned  expression,  occupy  the  space,  on  the  scale,  of  one  tone,  or 
pa*s  from  one  note  to  the  next  above  it  on  the  scale.  The  succes- 
sion of"  concrete  "  tones,  is  uniformly  at  the  interval  of  a  tone,  up- 
ward or  downward  on  the  scale,  as  the  case  may  be.  The  rise  of 
voice  within  each  syllable  may  therefore  be  called  its  "concrete 
pit^h;"  and  the  place  that  each  syllable  takes  above  or  behw 
another,  the  "  radical  pitch." 

The  "  melody  of  phrases,"  prescribes  no  fixed  succession  of  rad- 
ical pitch,  although  it  usually  avoids  a  repetition  of  the  same  "  radi- 
cal pitch,"  unless  for  special  effect;  in  extreme  cases ;  and  it  foibida 


128  ORTHOPHONY. 

the  see -saw  tone  of  exact  alternation,  or  measured  recurrence,  of 
11  radical  pitch." 

The  convenience  of  using  specific  and  exact  term;  5,  in  relation  to 
"  melody  "  and  "  pitch,"  as  they  exist  in  speech,  renders  the  follow 
ing  distinctions  important  to  the  student  of  elocution. 

When  two  or  more  "  concretes  "  occur  in  succession,  on  the  same 
"  radical  pitch,"  they  form  a  "  monotone,"  or  produce  upon  the  ear 
the  effect  of  unity  or  sameness  of  sound  or  tone.  This  concrete 
pitch  is  often  used  in  conjunction  with  the  low  notes  of  awe,  sub* 
limit]/,  and  solemnity,  for  impressive  effect,  resembling  that  of  th(j 
deep  tolling  of  a  large  bell.  "  Monotone,"  however,  is  not  to  b(* 
confounded  with  monotony,  the  besetting  fault  of  school  reading,  anj 
which  consists  chieily  in  omitting  or  slighting  the  "  radical  stress,' 
and  sometimes  abolishing  even  the  "  radical  movement "  of  elements 
"  Monotone  "  is  the  sublimest  poetic  effect  of  elocution:  monotony 
one  of  the  worst  defects. 

When  the  "radical  pitch"  is  one  note  above  or  below  that  of 
the  preceding  tone,  it  is  termed  a  "  Rising  "  or  a  "  Falling  Ditone.' 
—  When  the  radicals  of  three  successive  "  concretes,"  rise  or  fall 
they  become  a  "  Rising  "  or  a  "  Falling  Tritone."  —  When  there 
is  a  series  of  three  or  more,  alternately  a  tone  above  and  below  each 
other,  they  form  an  "  Alternate  Phrase." 

When  three  "concretes"  gradually  descend  in  their  "radical 
pitch  "  at  the  close  of  a  sentence,  the  "  vanish  "  of  the  last,  instead 
of  ascending,  descends ;  so  as  to  give  the  peculiar  closing  effect  to 
the  cadence.  This  descent  is,  accordingly,  for  distinction's  sake, 
termed  the  "  Triad  of  the  Cadence." 

It  is  in  this  peculiar  "  phrase  "  of  "  sentential  melody,"  that  the 
very  general  fault,  popularly  called  "  a  tone,"  exists.  The  common 
style  of  cadence,  instead  of  being  spoken,  is  usually  such  as  causes  it 
to  be  sung,  more  or  less,  by  deviating  from  the  melody  of  the 
"triad,"  and,  at  the  same  time,  losing  "radical,"  and  assuming 
"  median  stress,"  accompanied  by  a  half-musical  wave  or  undulation 
of  voice.  A  clear,  distinct,  and  exact  succession  of  "  radical  {itch," 
in  the  form  of  the  "  triad,"  would,  in  most  cases,  destroy  the  false 
tone,  and  impart  to  reading  more  resemblance  than  it  often  possesses 
to  speech  or  to  conversation. 

The  student  will  derive  much  assistance,  in  this  branch  of  elocu- 
tion, from  repeating  the  "  tonic  elements,"  and  appropriate  words 
selected  from  the  exercises  in  the  chapter  on  enunciation,  wilh  a 
view,  first,  to  observe  the  "  concrete"  character  of  the  elementary 
sounds  of  speech  in  their  initial  "radical"  and  rising  "vanish." 
Let  letters,  syllables,  and  words,  then  be  practised,  successively 
in  the  forms  of  the  phrases  of  the  "monotone,"  "falling"  am4 
"  rising  "  "  ditone,"  and  "  tritone,"  and  the  "  triad  of  the  cadence.' 

The  following  illustration,  selected  from  the  work  of  Dr.  Rush 
will  suggest  the  idea  how  the  exercises  in  this  department  may  h( 
practised  in  classes,  by  the  use  of  the  chart  of  exercises,  or  of  the 
black-board. 

The  object  in  view,  in  the  use  of  such  diagrams  as  the  following 
is  not  to  exhibit  the  strict  application  of  any  rule  or  priaciple  of  eio* 


PITCH.  129 

c  idon,  but  merely  to  aid  the  mind  in  attaining  an  exact  apprehension 
of  the  nature  and  character  of  the  elements  of  vocal  sound,  in  certain 
relations.  It  is  not  meant  that  either  the  couplet  from  Pope's  Homer, 
which  is  introduced  in  the  following  illustration,  or  the  lines  which 
follow  it,  must  be  read  with  the  precise  melody  exhibited  in  the  dia- 
gram, or  that  they  cannot  be  appropriately  read  with  any  other.  The 
design  of  this  exemplification,  is  merely  to  show  the  different  forms 
of  "  radical  pitch,"  as  they  occur  in  the  actual  use  of  the  voice,  and 
to  render  the  practice  of  them  definite  and  exact.  The  repetition  of 
the  exercise  will  render  the  ear  accurate  and  discriminating,  and  will 
preserve  the  student  from  inadvertently  contracting  the  false  intona- 
tion arising  from  the  general  neglect  of  this  part  of  elocution, 
and  from  the  impossibility  of  discussing  or  explaining  its  peculiari- 
ties till  the  means  of  instruction  were  furnished  by  exact  analysis 
and  precise  nomenclature,  —  benefits  for  which  science  and  education 
stand  equally  indebted  to  the  discriminating  genius  and  philosophic 
investigation  of  Dr.  Rush. 

"  That      quarter    most     the      skilful     Greeks     annoy, 


E 


-&-**- 


_®L 


<£-&- 


Monotone,      Falling  Ditone.      Rising  Tritone.    Rising  Ditone. 


Where  yon  wild 

fig  trees  join    the 

walls     of 

Troy.' 

*        iJ 

d     •*      d       — 

**      <w 

*       V 

*      as 

Falling  Tritone,  Alternation.  Triad  of  the  Cadence. 

To  secure  the  full  benefit  of  discrimination  and  of  exact  practice, 
it  will  be  a  useful  exercise  to  repeat  the  phrases  of  melody  in  the 
diagram,  on  the  "  tonic"  and  other  elements,  on  syllables,  and  on 
(he  following  couplets. 

1.  —  "  Lo !  the  poor  Indian,  whose  untutored  mind 
Sees  God  in  tempests,  hears  him  m  the  wind."  l 

2, — "  There,  where  a  few  torn  shrubs  the  place  disclose, 
The  village  preacher's  modest  mansion  rose." 

3. — "  Thus  every  good  his  native  wilds  impart, 
Imprints  the  patriot  passion  on  his  heart." 

1  The  above  example  is  intentionally  introduced  as  one  of  cadmce,  for  the 
Bake  of  contrast  with  the  tone  of  continuance,  which  belongs  to  it  in  the 
original  text. 


13U  ORTHOPHONY. 

4.—"  The  conscious  swains,  rejoicing  in  the  sight, 
Eye  the  blue  vault,  and  bless  the  useful  light" 

THE    "SLIDE." 

We  proceed  to  the  examination  of  another  function  ci  the 
voice,  connected  with  "  melody,"  or  the  transition  of  vocal 
sound  from  one  note  to  another  of  the  musical  scale. —  The 
transit  from  the  "  radical "  to  the  "  vanish  "  of  a  sound,  is,  it  will 
be  recollected,  limited,  in  "  concrete  pitch,"  to  a  single  tone,  or 
the  distance  measured  to  the  ear,  in  passing  from  one  note  to 
the  next  above,  on  the  scale.  We  should  hear  this  transition 
exemplified  in  the  sound  of  a  in  the  word  arm,  in  the  follow- 
ing unimpassioned  and  incomplete  phrase,  if  read  as  it  would 
be  in  the  case  of  a  person  suddenly  interrupted,  at  the 
moment  of  uttering  that  word,  in  the  act  of  reading  a  sen- 
tence; thus,  "  He  raised  his  arm" — The  broken  or  inter- 
rupted, progress  of  the  voice,  is  here  indicated  by  the  fact 
that  the  sound  of  a  in  the  word  arm  does  not  descend, 
but  remains  suspended  by  the  effect  of  "  concrete  pitch,"  or 
the  common  difference  between  the  "  radical "  and  the  "  van- 
ishing movement,"  in  an  unimpassioned  or  inexpressive 
sound. 

But  let  us  suppose  the  case  of  a  person  uttering  the  same 
element,  in  the  vivid  language  of  real  or  affected  surprise,  in 
the  interjection  "  ah  I "  We  shall  now  perceive,  that  the 
interval  between  the  "radical"  and  the  "vanish,"  is  greatly 
enlarged,  and  that  the  voice  has  run  up  three,  five,  or  per- 
haps, eight  notes,  according  to  the  depth  and  earnestness  of 
the  feeling  expressed  in  the  utterance  of  the  sound.  The 
more  slow  and  drawling  the  style  of  voice  is  made,  in  the 
repetition  of  the  supposed  example,  the  more  distinct  will  be 
our  perception  of  the  transition  of  sound  from  note  to  note,  as 
it  glides  up  the  scale.  This  vocal  function  is  what,  in  elocu- 
tion, is  termed  an  "  upward  slide,"  or  in  the  language  of 
some  elocutionists,  a  "  rising  inflection." 

Let  us  suppose,  once  more,  the  sound  of  the  same  element 
felling  on  the  ear,  m  the  tone  of  the  bold  military  command, 


THE    "SLIDE."  131 

Arm!"  We  shall  now  perceive  that,  in  the  time  which 
transpires  from  the  first  to  the  last  moment  cf  the  souud,  the 
voice  glides  down  the  scale,  through  an  interval,  greater  or 
less,  according  to  the  boldness  and  fulness  of  the  utterance. 
We  have  here  an  example  of  the  "  downward  slide,"  or 
u  falling  inflection." 

The  extent  of  the  "  slide"  depends,  usually,  on  the  intensity  of  a 
prompting  emotion,  as  in  the  case  of  surprise,  mentioned  before.  Let 
the  student  who  has  not  yet  trained  his  ear  to  discriminate  the  de- 
grees of  the  "  slide,"  and  who  wishes  to  attain  a  clear  perception  of 
its  different  forms,  imagine  a  conversation  going  on  between  two  per- 
sons, one  of  whom  is  relating  to  the  other  a  series  of  events,  each 
one  successively  more  striking  and  more  surprising  than  the  preced- 
ing. Let  the  hearer  be  supposed  to  utter,"  at  each  stage  in  the  narra- 
tive, the  expressive  interrogatory  interjection  of  surprise,  "  indeed!" 
and  with  that  marked  increase  of  effect,  which  arises  not  only  from 
the  augmented  intensity  of  force,  but  also  from  the  wider  interval  of 
the  scale,  or  the  larger  number  of  notes,  which  the  voice  traverses, 
in  the  "  expressive  melody  "  of  speech-. 

The  progressive  change  of  feeling,  which  causes  the  progressive 
change  of  expression  in  the  voice,  may,  for  the  sake  of  illustration, 
be  supposed  to  rise  from  surprise  to  wonder,  and  from  wonder  to 
astonishment.  In  such  circumstances,  may  be  heard,  1st,  the  ordi- 
nary "  slide  "  of  surprise,  —  the  interval  occupied  by  the  voice,  f.  >n 
the  moment  of  uttering  the  "radical  "  of  the  expressive  soured  to 
that  of  uttering  its  "  vanish,"  being  a  rising  "  third ;"  the  voice  glid- 
ing upward,  with  a  continuous  sound,  terminating  in  the  note  v»Kch 
lies  on  the  third  degree  of  the  scale  above  the  "  radical :" — 2d,  the 
more  expressive  "  slide  "  of  greater  surprise,  or  of  wonder,  —  occu- 
pying the  interval  of  an  upward  "  fifth  ;"  the  gliding  sound  terminat 
ing  on  the  note  which  is  on  the  fifth  degree  of  the  scale  ^bove  the 
"  radical :"  —  3d,  extreme  surprise,  excessive  wonder,  or  astonishment, 
whether  real  or  affected,  (and,  particularly,  if  the  latter,)  will  impel 
the  voice  with  a  slide  which  glides  through  a  whole  "  octave,"  or 
interval  of  eight  notes,  from  the  "  radical  "  to  the  "  v&iish." 

Again,  let  it  be  supposed  that  the  person  who  is  listening  to  the 
narrator,  is  answering  in  the  derisive  tone  of  mockery.  The  voice,  in 
tlds  case,  will  utter  the  word  "  indeed!"  in  the  downward  "  slide  ;" 
and  if  we  suppose,  farther,  the  tone  of  emotion  increased  in  intensity 
of  expression,  at  each  stage,  the  effect  may  be  to  produce  the  fame 
thiee  intervals  of  the  scale  as  before,  but  in  the  opposite  direction  : 
—  1st,  the  downward  "  third,"  —  2d,  the  downward  "  fifth," — 3d, 
the  downward  "  octave  ;"  the  voice  gliding  down  with  a  continuous 
sound,  through  each  of  these  intervals,  in  succession,  //hde  uttering 
the  last  syllable  of  the  expressive  word  "  indeed!" 

Similar  illustrations  might  be  drawn  from  the  natural  "  expres- 
sion "  of  other  strong  or  distinctly  marked  emotions.  But  these  wil. 
occur  in  subsequent  examples.  A  clear  and  broad  definition  is  all 
that  is  now  requisite. 


132  ORTHOPHONY. 

The  "  slides  "  of  the  voice  have  three  important  and  dis 
rinct  offices ;  and  these  produce  the  three  principal  forms  of 
the  '  slide  :"  1st,  the  "  slide  of  passion  or  emotion" —  2d,  the 
"  distinctive  slide,"  or  that  which  is  addressed  to  the  under- 
standing and  the  judgment,  as  in  designation,  comparison,  and 
contrast,  —  3d,  the  "mechanical  slide,"  which  belongs  to  the 
mechanism  of  a  sentence,  and  the  local  position  of  phrases; 
as  in  the  special  instance  of  the  partial  cadence,  which  takes 
place  when  a  distinct  portion  of  the  sense  is  completed, 
although  the  whole  sentence  is  not  finished;  as  in  this 
instance  :  "  Let  your  companions  be  select ;  let  them  be  such 
as  you  can  esteem  for  their  good  qualities,  and  whose  virtu- 
ous example  you  may  emulate."  We  have  another  example 
in  the  "  triad  "  of  the  full  and  final  cadence  falling  en^liely 
within  one  syllable,  as  in  the  following  emphatic  negation : 
"  No ;  by  the  rood,  not  so  I " 

Another  "  slide "  which  serves  a  mechanical  puipose, 
rather  than  one  of  thought  or  feeling,  is  the  "  penuhimate 
slide  "  of  most  sentences,  which  serves  the  purpose  of  raising 
the  voice  deliberately  and  distinctly,  previous  to  its  final 
descent  at  the  close  of  the  sentence,  and  thus  renders  the 
cadence  more  perceptible  and  more  impressive ;  as  in  the  fol- 
lowing example :  "  Let  the  young  go  out,  under  the  descend- 
ing sun  of  the  year,  into  the  fields  of  nature." 

Few  parts  of  elocution  are  more  important  to  the  practical  teacher 
or  to  the  earnest  student,  than  the  discrimination  of  the  "  partial " 
and  the  "  final  "  cadence.  The  confounding  of  these  two  descents  of 
voice,  causes  the  two  prevalent  errors  of  school  reading  and  popular 
oratory,  as  contradistinguished  "from  true,  natural,  and  appropriate 
expression.  The  school-boy,  in  attempting  to  give  the  "  partial  " 
cadence,  when  endeavoring  to  comply  with  his  teacher's  injunction. 
to  "  use  a  falling  inflection,"  gives  the  full  "  trjad  "  of  the  cadence, 
on  the  last  three  syllables,  in  the  phrase  of  the  preceding  example^ 
u  be  select:"  which  of  course  produces,  at  the  colon,  the  proper  effect 
of  a  period.  The  habitual  tone  of  school  reading,  inclining,  in  didac- 
tic style,  to  a  declamatory  chant,  the  young  reader,  when  he  comes 
to  the  proper  place  of  the  cadence,  at  the  close  of  the  sentence,  sub- 
stitutes, for  the  proper  "  triad," — on  the  last  three  syllables, —  the 
<;  rising  ditone,"  on  the  first  and  second,  and  a  "concrete  third  " 
with  a  downward  "  vanish,"  on  the  third  ;  and  these  are  commonly 
eaiercd  still  more  conspicuous  by  the  unhappy  effect,  (intended, 


THE    l(  SLIDE."  133 

apparently,  as  a  compensation  for  the  want  of  true  cadence,)  of  a 
superadded  "wave."  This  "  drift,"  or  prevailing  effect  of  false 
intonation,  in  the  "  melody  of  sentences,"  pervades  the  style  of  voice 
current  in  school  reading,  in  academic  declamation,  and  in  public 
addresses,  and  substitutes  something  like  the  effects  of  song  for  those 
of  speech. 

The  "triad"  of  the  cadence  derives  its  closing  effect  of  repose 
and  approaching  cessation  of  voice,  partly  from  its  contrasting  with 
the  previous  "penultimate  upward  slide,"  which  usually  occurs  at 
the  last  comma,  or  similar  pause,  of  a  sentence,  and  terminates  the 
penultimate  clause  ;  sometimes  from  a  previous  "  falling  tritono  " 
preceding  the  penultimate  rise ;  and  always  from  its  own  regular 
descent,  which  reseir  bles  the  effect  of  a  gradual  but  distinct  succes- 
sion of  downward  steps.  The  "  partial  "  cadence  of  complete  sense, 
but  incomplete  period,  on  the  contrary,  preserves  its  more  abrupt  effect 
of  imperfectly  finished  succession  of  sounds,  by  adopting,  in  the  last 
three  syllables  of  the  clause  to  which  it  is  applied,  the  "  rising 
ditone  "  on  the  first  and  second,  and  the  "  concrete  of  the  second," 
with  downward  "  vanish,"  on  the  third.  The  effect  of  full  cadence 
is  thus  entirely  avoided,  and  yet  that  of  partial  completeness  of  sense, 
secured ;  the  voice  ending  on  a  strain  too  high  for  the  one,  and  yet, 
by  the  "  concrete  of  the  second  "  with  the  downward  "  vanish,"  pre- 
serving the  indication  of  temporary  cessation  and  slight  repose. 

I.       THE    SLIDE    OF    EMOTION. 

The  "slide  of  emotion "  extends  through  an  interval  corre- 
sponding, in  every  instance,  to  the  intensity  of  feeling  implied 
in  "expressive"  words,  and  may,  accordingly,  be  measured, 
in  most  instances,  by  the  "  third,"  the  "  fifth,"  or  the 
"  octave." 

Strong  emotions  are  expressed  by  the  "  downward  slide ;" 
except  surprise,  and  earnest,  or  impassioned  interrogation, 
which  usually  adopt  the  "  upward  slide"  of  the  "  fifth"  or  the 
"  octave." 

EXAMPLES. 

1.    Impetuous  Courage  and  Fierce  Determination. 

Richmond  to  his  Troofs. — ShaJcspeare. 

("  Orotund  "  and  "  aspirated  pectoral  quality :"  Shouting  :  "  Explo- 
sive radical"  and  "expulsive  median  stress:"  "High  pitch." 
The  "downward  slide"  of  the  "third,"  takes  place  on  every 
emphatic  word  in  the  first  four  lines,  and  'he  "  downward  fifth  " 
on  the  remainder,  as  indicated  by  the  grave  accent,  the  usual  mark 
for  this  "  slide.") 
12 


134  ORTHOPHONY. 

"  Fight,  gentlemen  of  England !  fight,  bold  yedmen f 
Draw,  archers,  draw  your  arrows  to  the  head : 
Spur  your  proud  horses  hard,  and  ride  in  blood , 
Amaze  the  welkin  with  your  broken  staves. — 
A  thousand  hearts  are  great  within  my  bosom : 
Advance  our  standards,  ;set  upon  our  foes ! 
Our  ancient  word  of  courage,  fair  Saint  George, 
Inspire  us  with  the  spleen  of  fiery  dragons ! 
Upon  them !     Victory  sits  on  our  helms." 

2.    Impassioned  burst  of  Scorn. 

From  Cokiolanus. — Shakspeare. 

("Aspirated  pectoral  and  guttural  quality :"  Violent  force :  "  Explo- 
sive radical  stress :"  "  High  pitch.' '  The  exemplification  occurs 
in  the  reply  of  Coriolanus,  which  contains  the  "  downward  slide ' 
of  the  "  octave,"  in  the  words  "  Measureless  liar !"  and  "  Boy!" 
and  the  "  downward  fifth  "  on  the  other  emphatic  words.) 

Aufidius.     "  Name  not  the  god, 
Thou  boy  of  tears. 

Coriolanus.     Measureless  liar !  thou  hast  made  my  heart 
Too  great  for  what  contains  it. 
Boy !    Cut  me  to  pieces,  Volscians  :  men  and  lads, 
Stain  all  your  edges  on  me.     Boy ! — 
If  you  have  writ  your  annals  true,  't  is  there 
That,  like  an  eagle  in  a  dovecot,  I 
Fluttered  your  Volscians  in  Corioli : 
Alone  I  did  it.— Boy!" 

3.    Indignant  Rebuke. 

Marullus  to  the  People. — Shakspeare. 

("Orotund  and  aspirated  pectoral  quality :"  "Impassioned"  force: 
"  Explosive  radical  stress :"  "  Low  pitch :"  "  Downward  slide  * 
of  the  "fifth." 

"  Begone  !  run  to  your  houses,  fall  upon  your  kneas, 
Pray  to  the  gods  to  intermit  the  plagues 
That  needs  must  light  on  this  ingratitude ! " 


THE    "SLIDE."  135 

4.   Excessive  Grief. 

(<  Aspirated  pectoral  quality  :"  Weeping  utterance  :  "  Impassioned  * 
force :  Violent  "  vanishing  stress  :"  "  High  pitch  :,,(|1  Downward 

slide  "of  the  "fifth.") 

David,  [bewailing  the  death  of  Absalom.] 

"  0  my  son  Absalom  !  my  son,  my  son  Absalom ! 
Would  God  I  had  died  for  thee,  0  Absalom,  my  son,  my 
son!"1 

5.    Exception. — Surprise,  Earnest  and  Impassioned  Interro- 
gation. 

Extract  from  Chatham. 

("Aspirated  pectoral  quality :"  "  Declamatory  "  force  :  "  Compoui  d 
stress  :"  "  High  pitch :"  "  Upward  fifth.") 

"Can  ministers  still  presume  to  expect  support2  in  their 
infatuation  ?  Can  parliament  be  so  dead  to  its  dignity  and 
its  duty,  as  to  give  its  support  to  measures  thus  obtruded  and 
forced  upon  it  ? " 

From  Cicero's  Accusation  of  Verres. 

"  Is  it  come  to  this  ?  Shall  an  inferior  magistrate,  a  gov- 
ernor, who  holds  his  whole  power  of  the  Roman  people,  in  a 
Roman  province,  within  sight  of  Italy,  bind,  scourge,  torture 
with  fire  and  red  hot  plates  of  iron,  and  at  last  put  to  the 
infamous  death  of  the  cross,  a  Roman  citizen  ?  " 

Marullus  to  the  People. — Shakspeare. 

"  O  you  hard  hearts,  you  cruel  men  of  Rome, 
Knew  ye  not  Pompey  ?     Many  a  time  and  oft 
Have  you  climbed  up  to  walls  and  battlements, 
To  towers  and  windows,  yea,  to  chimney-tops, 

1  For  fuller  exemplification  of  the  "slide,"  see  "American  Elocutionist,"  in 
which  this  and  the  other  departments  of  sentential  and  rhetorical  elocution, 
are  fully  discussed.  The  present  volume,  being  designed  merely  as  a  manual 
for  training  in  orthophony,  and  as  an  introduction  to  the  Elocutionist,  is  lim- 
ited to  sued  an  outline  of  the  subject  as  might  afford  sufficient  ground  for  the 
intelligent  practice  of  a  course  of  elementary  exercises. 

2  Tlie  acute  accent  is  the  usual  mark  of  the  "  upvvarl  slide,"  or  "rising 
inflection." 


13b  ORTHOPHONY. 

Your  infants  m  your  arms,  and  there  nave  sat 
The  live-long  day,  with  patient  expectation, 
To  see  great  Pompey  pass  the  streets  of  Rome : 
And  when  you  saw  his  chariot  but  appear, 
Have  you  not  made  a  universal  shout, 
That  Tiber  trembled  underneath  her  banks 
To  hear  the  replication  of  your  sounds, 
Made  in  her  concave  shores  ? l 
And  do  you  now  put  on  your  best  attire  ? 
And  do  you  now  cull  out  a  holiday? 
And  do  you  now  strew  flowers  in  his  way, 
That  comes  in  triumph  over  Pompey's  blood  ?  n 

II.      THE  "  DISTINCTIVE  "   SLIDE. 

This  slide,  it  will  be  recollected,  is  used  not  for  purposes  of  pas- 
sion or  emotion,  but  for  suggestions  connected  with  the  understand- 
ing and  judgment,  —  that  which  may  be  termed  intellectual,  not  im~ 
passioned,  expression. 

The  "  downward  distinctive  slide "  extends,  usually, 
through  the  interval  of  a  "  third."  It  is  used,  first,  for  mere 
designation,  as  in  announcing  a  subject  or  topic,  in  didactic 
style,  in  introducing  a  person  or  an  event  in  narrative,  or  an 
object,  in  descriptive  style ;  as  in  the  following  examples : 
"  The  duties  of  the  citizens  of  a  republic  formed  the  subject 
of  the  orator's  address."  "  Among  the  eminent  men  of  the 
period  of  the  American  Revolution,  Benjamin  Franklin  held 
a  conspicuous  place."  "  From  the  date  of  the  American 
Revolution,  commenced  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  man." 
"  The  dazzling  summits  of  the  snow-capt  mountains  in  the 
distance,  threw  an  air  of  enchantment  over  the  scene." 

This  slide  is  used  also,  for  distinction  in  contrasts,  as  in  the 
latter  )f  two  correspondent  or  antithetic  words  or  phrases,  in 
which  the  contrast  is  exactly  balanced;  thus,  "I  would 
neither  be  rich  nor  poor,"  or  when  the  antithesis  is  unequal, 
and  one  word  or  phrase  is  intentionally  made  more  expressive 

1  An  interrogation  of  peculiar  emphasis,  or  of  great  length,  takes  the  down 
ward  slide;  as,  in  sudi  cases,  the  effect  of  interrogation  is  lost  in  chat  of 


THE    "  SLIDE."  137 

than  the  other,  in  which  case  the  more  emphatic  word  or 
phrase  takes  the  downward  slide :  thus,  "  I  would  rather  be 
rich  than  poor." — The  "  distinctive  upward  slide"  occurs  in 
the  word  "  rich"  in  the  former  of  these  examples;  and  it  may 
be  given  also  in  the  word  "poor"  in  the  latter,  if  pronounced 
with  peculiar  distinctive  force,  so  as  to  authorize,  in  the  sound 
of  the  word  "poor"  an  upward  slide,  instead  of  a  cadence,  at 
the  close  of  the  sentence, — an  effect  which  often  takes  place 
in  the  unstudied  and  natural  use  of  the  voice,  and  which  cor- 
responds somewhat  to  the  rebound  of  the  ball,  when  it  is 
thrown  against  the  wall  with  sufficient  force  to  produce  that 
effect. 

EXAMPLES    OF   "  DISTINCTIVE    SLIDES." 

I.     Simple  Designation. 
1.    Didactic  Style. 

"  The  progress  of  the  Italian  opera,  in  this  country,  will 
form  the  subject  of  this  essay." 

"  The  downfall  of  the  Roman  empire  was  the  next  great 
theme  chosen  by  that  eminent  historian." 

"  The  origin  of  the  distinctions  of  rank  in  society,  forms 
one  of  the  most  interesting  topics  of  historical  investigation." 

2.    Narrative  Style. 

"  The  conspiracy  of  Catiline,  as  related  by  Sallust,  was 
one  of  the  most  atrocious  designs  ever  plotted  by  desperate 
and  heartless  villany." 

"  From  the  time  when  the  people  enjoyed  the  right  of 
electing  their  tribunes,  they  fondly  deemed  their  libeity 
secure!  against  future  encroachments." 

"  The  usurpation,  as  it  has  been  termed,  of  Oliver  Crom- 
well, rightly  interpreted,  is  one  of  the  most  memoralle  of 
lessons  to  monarchy,  ever  taught  in  the  great  school  of 
history." 

3.    Descriptive  Style. 

M  A  sudden  shower  puts  an  end  to  the  gaiety  of  the  revel- 
12* 


138  ORTHOPHONY. 

lers,  and  sends  them  scampering  in  all  directions  for  shel- 
ter." 

H  The  spots  on  the  disc  of  the  sun,  which,  in  some 
instances,  are  larger  than  a  continent  or  an  ocean,  with  us, 
are,  it  is  believed,  openings  in  the  luminous  atmosphere  of 
that  body,  exhibiting  the  dark  surface  beneath." 

"  The  first  primrose  of  the  spring,  was  peeping  through  the 
shrivelled  herbage  at  the  roots  of  the  hedge,  along  the  side  of 
the  lane." 

II.     Comparison  and  Antithesis,  or  Contrast. 
1.    Comparison  of  Single  Objects. 
"  As  is  the  beginning,  so  is  the  end." 

2.    Double  Comparison. 

"  As  we  cannot  discern  the  moving  of  the  shadow  over  the 
Mial-plate ;  so  we  cannot  trace  the  progress  of  the  mind  in 
knowledge." 

3.  Contrast  of  Single  Objects. 

"  I  mingled  freely  with  all  classes  of  society,  and  narrowly 
observed  the  life  of  the  peasant,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
prince." 

4.  Double  Contrast,  or  Antithesis. 

"  As  it  is  the  part  of  justice  never  to  do  violence,  it  is  thaf 
of  modesty  never  to  commit  offence. " 

III.      THE    "  MECHANICAL   SLIDE." 

This  form  of  the  "  slide"  was  defined  as  either  "  upward ' 
or  "  downward ;"  the  former  occurring  at  the  close  of  the 
penultimate  clause  of  a  sentence,  in  preparation  for  its 
cadence ;  the  latter,  when  the  cadence,  from  the  absence  of 
accent  on  preceding  syllables,  descends  in   the  form  of  a 

1  In  double  contrasts,  the  full  "  distinctive  slide  of  the  third,"  falls  only  on 
the  prominent  parts  of  the  contrast,  the  leading  and  determining  words  at  the 
middle  and  the  end  of  the  sentence :  the  other  pair  of  contrasted  words  are 
usually  restricted  to  "  falling  "  and  "  rising  ditone,"  in  their  "  radical  pitch.' 


THE    M  SLIDE."  139 

u  concrete  downward  slide"  on  a  single  sound,  which  in- 
eludes,  within  itself,  the  whole  interval  otherwise  occupied  by 
a  "  discrete  triad."  Another  form  of  the  "  mechanical  slide," 
is  used  to  indicate,  as  mentioned  before,  complete  sense,  or 
the  finishing  of  an  independent  part  of  a  sentence.  Its  effect, 
as  a  descent  of  voice,  differs  to  the  ear  from  that  of  the 
cadence,  in  the  fact  formerly  stated,  of  its  commencing  ana 
ceasing  at  a  higher  point  of  the  scale,  and  from  its  not  being 
preceded  by  the  "penultimate  slide,"  nor  by  a  previous 
descent  of  voice  which  prepares  the  ear  for  the  deliberate  and 
full  effect  of  cadence.  It  may  be  termed  the  "  downward 
slide  of  complete  sense"  or  "partial"  cadence,  as  contrasted 
with  its  opposite,  the  "  upward  slide  "  of  the  "  third,"  in  incom- 
plete sense,  assumed,  on  purpose,  in  the  middle  of  a  sentence, 
to  create  expectation  of  farther  expression,  for  the  completion 
of  a  thought ;  or  the  "  upward  third  "  of  unimpassioned  inter- 
rogation, which  also  implies  incomplete  or  undetermined 
sense.  The  M  downward  slide  of  complete  sense,"  may  be  so 
denominated  also,  as  contrasted  with  the  mere  effect  of  "  con- 
crete pitch,"  when  a  reader,  as  was  formerly  supposed,  for  the 
purpose  of  illustration,  is  suddenly  interrupted  in  the  act  of 
reading,  and  breaks  off  at  an  incomplete  phrase. 

EXAMPLES. 

1 . — "  Penultimate  Slide," 

"  The  signification  of  our  sentiments,  made  by  tones  and 
gestures,  has  this  advantage  above  that  made  by  words,  that 
it  is  the  language  of  nature." 

"  In  epic  poetry,  the  English  have  only  to  boast  of  Spenser 
and  Milton,  who  neither  of  them  wanted  either  genius  or 
learning  to  have  been  perfect  poets ;  and  yet  both  of  them  are 
liable  to  many  censures." 

2. — "Partial  Cadence"  at  the  close  of  a  clause  which  forms 
complete  sense, 
"  Greatness  confers  no  exemption  from  the  cares  ajid  sor- 
rows of  life  :  its  share  of  them  frequently  bears  a  melancholy 
proportion  to  its  exaltation." 


140  ORTHOPHONY. 

"  In  man,  we  see  a  creature  whose  thoughts  are  not  limited 
Dy  any  narrow  bounds  either  of  place  or  time,  who  carries  his 
researches  into  the  most  distant  regions  of  this  globe,  and 
beyond  this  globe,  to  the  planets  and  heavenly  bodies ;  looks 
backward  to  consider  the  first  origin  of  the  human  race;  casts 
his  eyes  forward  to  see  the  influence  of  his  actions  upon  pos- 
terity, and  the  judgments  which  will  be  formed  of  his  char- 
acter a  thousand  years  hence :  a  creature  who  traces  causes 
and  effects  to  great  lengths  and  intricacy ;  extracts  general 
principles  from  particular  appearances;  improves  upon  his 
discoveries,  corrects  his  mistakes,1  and  makes  his  very  errors 
profitable." 

3. — -"Upward  Slide  of  incomplete  or  suspended  sense" 

"Were  men  entirely  free  from  vice,  all  would  be  uni- 
formity, harmony,  and  order." 

"  The  idea  of  that  Divine  Being,  whose  benevolence  and 
wisdom  have,  from  all  eternity,  contrived  and  conducted  the 
immense  machine  of  the  universe,  so  as  at  all  times  to  pro- 
duce the  greatest  possible  quantity  of 2  happiness,  is  certainly, 
of  all  objects  of  human  contemplation,  by  far  the  most  sub- 
lime." 

"  If  a  man  is  deeply  impressed  with  the  habitual  and 
thorough  conviction,  that  a  benevolent  and  all-wise  Being  can 
admit  into  the  system  of  His  government  no  partial  evil  which 
is  not  necessary  for  the  universal  good,  he  must  consider  all 
the  misfortunes  which  may  befall  himself,  his  friends,  his 
society,  or  his  country,  as  necessary  for  the  prosperity  of  the 
universe,  and  therefore  as  what  he  ought,  not  only  to  submit 
to  with  resignation,  but  as  what  he  himself,  if  he  had  known 
all  the  connexions  and  dependences  of  things,  ought  sincerely 
and  devoutly  to  have  wished  for." 

4. — "Upward  Slide"  of  "  unimpassioned  interrogation" 
"  Have  you  heard  the  news  ?     Can  we  place  any  depen- 

1  "  Penultimate  upward  slide." 

*  A  "  rising  tritone"  is  sometimes  the  equivalent  of  the  ■  upward  slide  at 
the  third." 


THE    M  SLIDE.'*'  141 

dcnce  on  the  report  ?  Is  it  probable  that  such  an  event  could 
have  been  kept  so  long  concealed  ?  " 

"  Shall  we  adopt  the  measures  proposed  by  this  speaker? 
Are  the  arguments  which  he  has  advanced  sufficient  to  pro- 
duce conviction?  Can  we  proceed  with  perfect  confidence 
that  we  shall  not  have  to  retrace  our  steps  ?  " 

"  Does  the  work  relate  to  the  interests  of  mankind  ?  Is  its 
object  useful,  and  its  end  moral  ?  Will  it  inform  the  under- 
standing, and  amend  the  heart  ?  Is  it  written  with  freedom 
and  impartiality?  Does  it  bear  the  marks  of  honesty  and 
sincerity  ?  Does  it  attempt  to  ridicule  anything  that  is  good 
or  great  ?  Does  a  manly  style  of  thinking  predominate  in  it  ? 
Do  reason,  wit,  humor,  and  pleasantry,  prevail  in  it  ?  Does 
it  contain  new  and  useful  truths?" 


CHAPTER  VIL 

"TIME." 


The  chief  characteristics  of  utterance,  which  are  subjects  of  atten- 
tion in  vocal  culture,  are  the  "  quality"  of  the  voice,  as  sound, 
merely,  and  its  "expression,"  as  produced  by  "  force,"  "  stress," 
"melody,"  or  "pitch,"  and  "time," — properties  equivalent  to 
those  which  are  comprehended,  in  music,  under  the  heads  of"  qual- 
ity," "dynamics,"  (force,)  "melody,"  and  "rhythm,"  (the  effect 
of  the  union  of"  accent,"  or  comparative  force,  and  "  time,"  on  the 
sequence  of  sounds.) 

The  subject  of  "  time  "  is  that  which  remains  to  be  discussed,  as 
the  ground  of  practical  exercises  in  elocution, 

"  QUANTITY." 

The  study  of  time,  as  a  measure  of  speech,  will  lead  to  the 
primary  classification  of  single  vowel  sounds,  as  long  or  short, 
in  duration,  according  to  their  character  and  expression,  as 
elements  of  language.  The  contrast,  in  the  duration  of  the 
"  tonic  element,"  or  vowel  sound,  <z,  in  the  words  male  and 
female,  will  furnish  examples ;  the  a  in  the  former  being 
much  longer,  or,  in  other  words,  occupying  a  much  larger 
space  of  time,  in  utterance,  than  the  a  Vi  the  latter.     The 


142  ORTHOPHONY. 

technical  designation  of  this  property  of  vocal  sounds,  is 
"  quantity," — implying  quantity  of  time,  or  duration.  The 
a  of  male,  is  accordingly  termed  a  "  long"  the  a  in  female,  a 
"short  quantity"  —  Such  is  the  usual  distinction  recognized 
II)  prosody,  and  applied  to  versification. 

Syllables,  when  regarded  in  connexion  with  the  "  quantities"  of 
their  component  elements,  and  classified  for  the  purposes  of  elocu- 
tion, have  been  arranged  by  Dr  Rush,  under  the  following  denomi- 
nations : 

1st.  "  Immutable,"  or  such  as  are,  from  the  nature  of  their  con- 
stituent sounds,  incapable  of  prolongation.  These  are  immutably 
fixed  to  the  shortest  "  quantity"  exhibited  in  an  elementary  sound, 
and  cannot,  even  when  accented,  and  uttered  in  solemn  or  in  poetic 
expression,  be  prolonged,  in  any  degree,  without  positive  mispronun- 
ciation or  destruction  of  the  peculiar  accent  of  the  language ;  as 
the  i,  for  example,  in  the  word  sick,  or  in  the  verb  convict.  "  Im- 
mutable "  syllables  terminate  with  an  abrupt,  or  "  atonic  "  element, 
preceded  by  a  short  "  tonic,"  as  in  the  above  examples. 

The  propriety  of  the  designation  "  immutable  "  will  be  apparent, 
on  referring  to  the  following  examples,  in  the  utterance  of  which, 
although  there  is  the  utmost  intensity  of  emotion,  the  elements  ic 
oppose  an  insuperable  resistance  to  any  attempt  to  heighten  the  ex- 
pression of  passion  by  prolonging  the  sound  of  the  syllable  or  word 
in  which  they  predominate. 

Hotspur,  [exclaiming   on  his  father's   illness,  and   consequent 

ABSENCE   FROM   THE    CAMP    AT    SHREWSBURY.] — Shcikspeare. 

"  Sick  now  !  droop  now !    This  sickness  doth  infect 
The  very  life-blood  of  our  enterprise." 

Catiline,  [indignantly  defying  the  Roman  Senate.] — Croly. 

"  Tried  and  convicted  traitor !  —  Who  says  this? 
Who  '11  prove  it,  at  his  peril,  on  my  head  ? " 

2d.  "  Mutable  "  syllables  are  such  as  are  constituted  like  the  pre- 
ceding, but  are  capable  of  a  slight  degree  of  prolongation.  Their 
"  time,"  therefore,  is  mutable,  or  admits  of  gradation,  according  to 
the  length  or  shortness  of  sound,  in  iheir  constituent  elements,  as 
pronounced  with  more  or  less  emotion  of  a  nature  which  requires 
slow,  rapid,  or  moderate  utterance  of  the  words  or  phrases  in  which 
they  occur.  The  monosyllable  yet,  or  the  accented  syllable  of  the 
word  beset,  uttered  in  the  tone  of  any  vivid  emotion,  will  furnish  an 
example.  An  instance  occurs  in  the  scene  of  the  combat  between 
Fits  James  and  Roderic  Dim,  when  the  latter  makes  the  taunting 
exclamation,  "Not  yet  prepared?"  —  and  another  in  Blanche's 
dying  warning. 


"quantity.  143 

"  The  path  's  beset,  by  flood  and  fell !" 

3d.  "  Indefinite  "  syllables,  or  those  which  contain,  or  terminate 
with,  a  "  tonic  "  element,  or  with  any  "  subtonic  "  but  b,  d,  or  g. 
The  "quantity"  of  the  predominating  element  in  such  syllables, 
even  when  it  is  not  positively  long,  admits,  without  offence  to  the 
ear,  of  a  comparatively  indefinite  prolongation  ;  as  the  a  in  the  words 
mi?:,  unmannerly,  pronounced  with  emotion.  The  time  occupied  in 
the  enunciation  of  such  sounds,  is  properly  determined  by  the  degree 
of  feeling  which  they  are,  for  the  moment,  used  to  express  ;  as  we 
perceive  in  the  different  tones  of  the  following  examples  :  the  first  in 
Hamlet's  admiring  exclamation,  "  What  a  piece  of  work  is  a  man  ! " 
and  Lady  Macbeth's  indignant  and  reproachful  interrogation  addressed 
to  her  husband,  when  he  stands  horror-stricken  at  the  vision  of  the 
ghost  of  Banquo,  "  Are  you  a  man?  " 

The  power  and  beauty  of  vocal  "  expression,"  are  necessarily 
dependent,  to  a  great  extent,  on  the  command  which  a  reader  or 
speaker  possesses  over  the  element  of  ' '  quantity. ' '  Poetry  and  elo- 
quence derive  their  audible  character  from  this  source,  more  than 
from  any  other.  The  music  of  verse  is  sacrificed,  unless  the  nicest 
regard  be  paid  to  "  quantity,"  as  the  basis  of  rhythm  and  of  metre  ; 
and,  with  the  exception  of  the  most  exquisite  strains  of  well-executed 
music,  the  ear  receives  no  pleasure  comparable  to  that  arising  from 
poetic  feeling,  imbodied  in  the  genuine  melody  of  the  heart,  as  it 
gushes  from  the  expressive  voice  which  has  the  power  of 

"  Untwisting  all  the  chains  that  tie 
The  hidden  soul  of  harmony." 

Milton,  in  his  Paradise  Lost,  affords  innumerable  examples  of  the 
majestic  grandeur  of  long  "  quantities  "  in  epic  verse  ;  and  without 
the  just  observance  of  these,  the  reading  of  the  noblest  passages  in 
that  poem,  becomes  fiat  and  dry.  The  same  is  true,  still  more  em- 
phatically, of  the  magnificent  language  of  the  poetic  passages  of 
Scripture,  in  those  strains  of  triumph  and  of  adoration,  which 
abound  in  the  book  of  Psalms,  and  in  the  prophets. 

The  necessity,  on  the  other  hand,  of  obeying  the  law  of  "  immuta- 
ble quantity,"  even  in  the  grandest  and  most  emphatic  expression,  is 
an  imperative  rule  of  elocution.  A  false,  bombastic  swell  of  voice, 
never  sounds  so  ridiculous  as  when  the  injudicious  and  unskilful 
reader  or  speaker  attempts  to  interfere  with  the  conditions  of  speech, 
and  to  prolong,  under  a  false  excitement  of  utterance,  those  sounds 
which  nature  has  irrevocably  determined  short.  We  have  this  fault 
exemplified  in  the  compound  of  bawling,  drawling,  and  redoubled 
"  wave,"  which  some  reciters  contrive  to  crowd  into  the  small  space 
of  the  syllable  vie,  in  the  conclusion  of  Moloch's  war-speech, 

"  Which  if  not  victory  is  yet  revenge." 

The  fierce  intensity  of  emotion,  in  the  true  utterance  of  this  syllable, 
brings  it  on  the  ear  with  an  instantaneous  ictus,  and  tingling  effect, 
resembling  that  of  the  lash  of  a  whip  applied  to  the  organ      A  simi- 


114  ORTHOPHONY. 

lar  case  occurs  in  Shylock's  fiendish  half-shriek,  on  the  word  hipt  in 
his  exclamation  referring  to  Antonio, 

"  If  I  do  catch  him  once  upon  the  hip, 

I  will  feed  fat  the  ancient  grudge  I  bear  him ! " 

The  sprawling,  expanded  utterance,  which  the  style  of  rant  prepos- 
terously endeavors  to  indulge,  on  this  word,  causes  the  voice,  as  it 
were,  to  fall  in  pieces  in  the  attempt,  and  to  betray  the  falsity  of  the 
style  which  it  affects. 

But  it  is  in  the  chaste  yet  generous  effect  of  the  judicious  prolon- 
gation and  indulgence  of  "  mutable  quantities, "  that  the  skill  of  the 
elocutionist,  and  the  power  and  truth  of  expression,  are  peculiarly 
felt.  It  is  in  these,  that  the  watchful  analyst  can  trace,  at  once,  the 
full  soul  and  the  swelling  heart,  which  would  impel  the  speaker  to 
prolong  indefinitely  the  tones  of  passion,  to  give  u  ample  scope  and 
verge  enough"  to  overflowing  feeling,  —  but,  not  less  surely,  the 
manly  force  of  judgment,  and  the  disciplined  good  taste,  which  forbid 
any  display  of  mere  sound,  in  the  utterance  of  earnest  emotion. 

A  long-continued  practice  on  the  elements  of  the  language,  on  sy1- 
lables,  words,  and  phrases,  will  be  well  bestowed  in  the  endeavor  to 
acquire  a  perfect  command  of  "  quantity." 

EXERCISES    IN   "  QUANTITY." 

The  following  exercises  need  close  attention  to  the  firmness,  clear- 
ness, decision,  and  purity  of  the  opening  "  radical,"  and  the  deli- 
cacy and  distinctness  of  the  "  vanish."  The  latter  should  be  occa- 
sionally practised  in  that  long-protracted  form,  which,  as  Dr.  Rush 
has  expressively  said,  "  knits  sound  to  silence." 1  The  elements  may 
be  practised  in  "  effusive,"  "  expulsive,"  and  "explosive"  utter- 
ance, on  all  the  chief  intervals  of  "  slide  "  and  u  wave,"  commencing 
with  the  "  second,"  and  extending  to  the  octave,  both  upward  and 
downward,  —  and  on  the  various  degrees  of  "  force  "  and  modes  of 
"  stress,"  together  with  the  distinctions  of  "  pitch,"  and  the  "  ex- 
pression "  of  the  chief  characteristic  emotions;  as  awe,  reverence, 
fear,  horror,  despair,  anger,  grief,  joy,  love,  &c. 

1.   Examples  of  Long  "Quantities,"  and  "Indefinite"  sylla- 
bles, 

-4-11  A-rm        Ai-r  .E-ve  Oo-zq  O-t 

ffl-we  a-\\\  Jh-ai-T  ee-\  f-oo-1      *  m-orn 

b-a-\\  t-0-rn         d-a-re  ea-x  p-00-r  f-o-rm 

aw4\x\  b-tf-lmy      c-fl-reless  e-vil  m-00-nless  o-rder 

1  The  same  thought  is  expressed,  with  inimitable  beauty,  in  the  lines  of 
Sheridan  Knowles : 

"  I  hear  a  sound  so  fine,  there  's  nothing  lives 
'Twixt  it  and  silence  I  " 


'  QUANTITY.' 


145 


oZ-ways 

h-a-rmless 

w-a- 

ry        easy        s-00-ner      o-rphan 

au-gur 

t-a-rnish 

r-a-rely       fee-ble       c-00-ling    0-rgan 

app-a-11 

af-<z-r 

bew- 

■a-re     rev-ea-1     rem-o-ve    ad-0-rn 

bef-a-11 

dis-#-rin 

ensn-a-re    conc-m-1  unm-00-r    acc-o-rd 

rec-0-11 

bec-a-lm 

decl 

■a-ie     app-e<z-l    repr-o-ve    forl-o-ro 

Aie 

J-ce 

O-ld 

Ou-r            Oi-l            Use 

aid 

i-sle 

020-11 

OW-\                   j  -02-11               ?/02£ 

ai-m 

d-ie 

o-de 

v-020             b-oy            d-ew 

b-#-  eful 

z-vy 

0-ver 

h-ow-ling     v-oz'-celess  d-w-ly 

h-oi-ling 

dz/-ing 

0-nly 

d-ow-nward  n-oi-sy       p-w-rer 

\v-ai-\ing  h-i-ghly 

h-o-ly       b-ow-ndless  p-oi-son      m-w-ral 

unv-ef-1 

repl-2/ 

bel-ow?      reb-ow-nd     enj-oy         ref-w-se 

recl-#c-m 

l  def-?/ 

foreg 

-0     res-ow-nd     rej-02-ce      am-z^-se 

lisd-02-n 

den-?/ 

beh-o-ld   unh-ow-sed  empl-o?/      den-w-de 

2.— 

Short  "Quantities,"  and  "Immutable"  Syllables} 

B-a-ck 

b-e-ck 

p-2-ck            d-0-ck           d-w-ck 

h-a-ck 

n-e-cl* 

s-2-ck             m-o-ck          t-w-ck 

b-a-ckward     b-e-ckon 

w-z-cked        s-o-cket          1-w-ckless 

1-a-ckey 

sp-e-ckled 

f-z-ckle           kn-0-cking    b-w-cket 

att-c-ck 

bed-e- 

ck 

unp-z'-cked    bem-0-ck       rel-w-et 

M-a-p 

D-z-p                      17-p 

r-a-p 

t-z-p                          c-tt-p 

t-a-p 

1-z-p                          s-w-p 

t-#-pster 

s-z-pping                   w-pper 

str-<2-pping 

tr-z-pping                  c-ft-pful 

B-a-t 

B-z-t                        B-^-t 

c-a-t 

p-z'-t                         c-w-t 

p-a-t 

f-z-t                           n-w-t 

b-a-tten 

b-z'-tter                     m-zz-tter 

t-a-tter 

f-z'-ttest                     c-u-ttmg 

3, — Variable  "Quantities  "  and  "Mutable"  Syllables. 
-d-pe      Wh-fl-t     B-e-t      4-dd        B-z-g      O-dd      C-zz-b 

1  "  Immutable  "  syllables  do  not  admit  of"  effusive  "  utterance.     They  are 
Dest  adapted  to  the  display  of"  explosive  "  style,  although  they  occur  also  in 
M  expulsive"  and  "declamatory  expression." 
1Q 


1 46  ORTHOPHONY. 

g-ai-t       n-o-t        d-e-bt     b-a-d        &-i-g       g-od      d-«-D 
f-a-te        g-o-t        p-e-t      m-a-d        f-z-g        n-o-d      t-w-b 
b-a-sely    d-o-tted  b-e-tter  s-a-dden  g-i-ggle  b-o-dy     b-w-bble 
w-a-keful  c-o-ttage  p-e-ttish  m-a-ddest  d-i-gger  s-o-dden  d-o-uble 

EXAMPLES    OF    "QUANTITY,"  IN   PHRASES    AND   SENTENCES. 

1.  —  JiOng  "Quantities  "  and  "Indefinite"  Syllables. 

[The  object  in  view  in  these  exercises,  is,  to  enable  the  studer.1  to 
trace  distinctly  the  wide  scope  of  "  expression  "  afforded  by  '  indefi- 
nite "  syllables,  for  the  full  prolongation  of  all  elements  which  imbody 
the  sounds  of  passion  and  emotion.  "  Time,"  in  elocution,  is  the 
opportunity  of  effect,  which  inattention  and  rapidity  throw  away. 
Young  readers,  in  particular,  need  much  practice  in  this  department ; 
as  they  incline  to  haste  and  slight  "  expression."  The  mode  of  per- 
forming these  exercises,  should  be  regulated  with  a  view,  at  first,  to 
the  fullest  effect  of  expressive  sound.  Afterwards,  the  style  may  be 
reduced  in  effect,  as  the  consecutive  reading  of  whole  pieces  may 
require.  In  vocal  training,  as  in  athletic  exercise,  the  object  of 
practice  is,  sometimes,  to  execute  a  given  feat,  with  a  view  to  its 
effect  on  habit,  —  to  gain  the  power  of  putting  forth,  on  requisite 
occasions,  a  maximum  of  effort,  in  an  easy,  graceful,  and  appropriate 
manner.] 

Grief;— "Oh !  I  have  lost  you  ail ! 

Parents,  and  home,  an4  friends." 
Courage : — "  Come  one,  come  all ! — this  rock  shall  fly 

From  its  firm  base  as  soon  as  I." 
Awe : — "  My  heart  is  awed,  within  me,  when  I  think 
Of  the  great  miracle  that  still  goes  on 

In  silence  round  me." 

Sublimity : — "  Hail !  holy  Light !  offspring  of  Heaven  first- 
born." 
Disdain :  —  "  None  left  but  by  submission  ;  and  that  word 

Disdain  forbids  me." 
Shouting : — *'  *  To  arms  !  to  arms !  to  arms  ! '  they  cry." 
Regret :  —  "Ah!  why  will  kings  forget  that  they  are  men, 

And  men  that  they  are  brethren?" 
Delight :  —  "  The  balmy  breath  of  incense-breathing  morn" — 

"O  my  soul's  joy  !" 
Fear : — "  While  the  deep  thunder,  peal  on  peal,  afar" — 
Triumph  : "Jo !  they  come,  they  come  1" 


QUANTITY."  147 

Misery: — M  "Wailing  and  woe,  and  grief,  and  fear, and  pain." 

Horror: -"  He  woke — to  die — midst  flame  and  smoke 

And  shout  and  groan  and  sabre  stroke"— 
Calling :  ~>     Awake  !  arise  !  or  be  forever  fallen ! " 
Defiance :-   "  Thy  threats,  thy  mercy,  I  defy  /  " 
'  I  give  thee,  in  thy  teeth,  the  lie/" 
Denial: — "  The  truth  of  his  whole  statement  I  do  most  per- 
emptorily deny." 
Challenge: — "Pal&,  trembling  coward!  there  I  throw  my 

gage." 
"  Draw?,  villain,  draw,  and  defend  thy  life !" 
Exultation: — "Poison,  and  Plague,  and  yelling  Rage  are 

fed!" 
Adoration: — "Air,   earth,   and    sea,    resound    His    praise 

abroad ! " 
Melancholy: — "Old  Ocean's  gray  and  melancholy  waste" — 
Grandeur : — "  Roll  on,  thou  deep  and  .dark  blue  ocean,  roll f 
Ten  thozjsand    fleets   sweep   over    thee   in 
vain!'' 

Anger : "  And  dar'st  thou,  then, 

To  beard  the  lion  in  his  den, 
The  Douglas  in  his  hall  ? 
And  hop'st  thou  hence  unscathed  to  go  ?— 
No/  by  Saint  Bride  of  Both  well,  no/" 

Pathos: "  For  I  am  poor  and  miserably  old!" 

Command : "  Chieftains  forego  / 

The  man  who  strikes  makes  me  his  foe. 
"  Hold,  hold  !  for  your  'ives  ! " 
"  Hold,  hold!  the  general  speak,  to  you;- 

hold,  for  shame  ! "  t 

Earnest  Entreaty : — "  Hear  me  !  oh !  hear  me  ! " 

Despair : "  Farewell  fear ! 

Farewell  remorse ! " 

Madness : "jEvil !  be  thou  my  good  ! " 

Pity: — "  Sickness,   and   want,   and   feeble,   trembling 

age"— 
Distraction :  — "  Bl  )iv,  wind,  and  crack  your  cheeks !  rage! 
bW/" 


148  ORTHOPHONY. 

Gloom  :  —  *  Thou  drear  and  howling  wilderness  ! " 
Vastness  and  Sublimity: — "Boundless,  ercdless,   and   sub- 
lime ! " 
Self-reproach :— "  O  fool !  fool !  fool ! " 
Commiseration: — "  Poor  fool  and  knave,  I  have  one  part  in 
my  heart 
That 's  sorry  yet  for  thee  i  " 

Imprecation: "  Strike  her  young  bones, 

You  taking  airs,  with  lameness ! 

You  nimble  lightnings,  dart  your  blending 

flames 
Into  her  scornful  eyes  ! " 
Accusation: — "Nathan   said  unto   David,   *  Thou  art  the 
man!"' 
"  AH  the  treasons,  for  these  eighteen  years, 
Complotted  and  concocted  in  this  land, 
Fetch  from  false  Mowbray  their  chief  spring 
and  head." 

Joy : "  Joy,  \oy  I  shout,  shout  aloud  for  \oy  I  " 

Fear : — "  With  noiseless  foot  she  treads  the  marble  floor." 
Grief: — "  The  Niobe  of  nations  !  there  she  stands 

Childless  and  crownless,  in  her  voiceless  woe/" 
"  Oh !  pardon  me,  thou  bleeding  piece  of  earth, 
That  I  am  meek  and  gentle  with  these  butchers !" 

Sorrow : "  Ah !  lady,  now  full  well  I  know 

What  't  is  to  be  an  orphan  hoy  !  " 

Delight : "Of  rjure  now  pwrer  air 

Meets  his  approach," 
"  Of  bloom  ethereal  the  light-footed  Dews."— - 

2. —  Short  "Quantities  "  and  "Immutable"  Syllables. 

[The  object  in  view,  in  the  following  examples,  is  to  exhibit  tin 
"  explosive  "  mode  of  utterance,  and  to  impart  the  power  of  concen 
trating  and  condensing  expression  into  the  shortest  sounds.  Instan 
tancous  execution  is,  in  these  examples,  the  point  to  be  aimed  at ;  — 
the  voice  to  be  charged  with  the  utmost  impetuous  force  of  utter 
ance,  on  every  expressive  syllable  ;  and  any  approach  to  prolonga 
tion  to  be  carefully  avoided,  as  tending  to  weaken  the  proper  effect 
The  u  explosion,"  in  many  of  these  instances,  should  resemble  tilt 
startling  abruptness  of  a  sudden  and  violent  blow.] 


1  QUANTITY, 


149 


iftrath:—1  Back  to  thy  punishment!  false  fugitive." 
Maddened  Resolve:— "I'll  fight  till  from  my  bones  my 
flesh  be  hacked!" 

Reproach : "  Up  !  sluggards,  up  ! " 

"  Wicked,  remorseless  wretch ! " 
"Ofzoklefool!" 
Indignation:  —  "  Thou  impious  mocker,  hence!" 

"  Be  ready,  gods,  with  all  your  thunder* 
bolts ! 
Dash  him  in  pieces  ! " 

Terror: "  Whence  is  that  knocking?" 

Command : — "  Sound,  tickets ! " 

Scorn: — "  You,  wretch  !  you  could  enjoy  yourself,  like  a 
batcher's  dog  in  the  shambles,  battening  on  garbage,  while 
the  slaughter  of  the  brave  went  on  around  you." 
Contempt : — "  Thou  tattered  starveling!" 

"  The  swaggering  upstart  reels !" 
Mirth: — "  Come,  and  trzp  it,  as  ye  go, 
On  the  light  fantastic  toe  !" 
Boasting: — "I  have  seen  the  day,  with  my  good  biting 
falchion 
1  would  have  made  them  skip ! " 
Threatening: — "This  day's  the  birth  of  sorrows:   this 
hour's  work 
Will  breed  proscriptions ! " 
Scorn :  —  "  Faithful  to  whom  ?  to  thy  rebellious  crew ! 

Army  of  fiends  !  —  fit  body  to  fit  head ! 
Amazement :  —  "  What !  fifty  of  my  followers  at  a  clap ! ' 
Revenge:  —  "Batter  their  walls  down,  raze  them  4o  the 

ground ! " 
Shouting :  — "  Victory  !   victory !      Their  columns    givo 
way  !  press  them  while  they  waver ;  and  the  day  is  ours  ! " 
Anger :  —  "Thou  mattering,  malapert  knave  !" 
Derision:  —  "Ay!    splatter   away,   thou   roasting  apple 
Spit  forth  thy  spleen  !  'twill  ease  thy  heart." 

Horror : "  I  could  not  say,  Amen, 

When  they  did  say,  G  od  bless  us ! 
13* 


150  ORTHOPHONY. 

"  Amen 

St?*ck  in  my  throat ! " 

Warning : •"  Bitterly  shall  ye  rue  your  folly ! " 

Indignation: "  But  this  very  day, 

An  honest  man,  my  neighbor,  —  there  he 

stands,  — 
Was  struck,  —  struck  like  a  dog, — by  one 
^  who  wore 

The  badge  of  Ursini," — 
Remorse :  — — —        "  Whip  me,  ye  devils ! 

From  the  possession  of  a  sight  like  this." 

3. — Variable  "Quantities  "  and  "Mutable"  Syllables. 

[The  design  of  the  following  exercises,  is  to  attract  the  student's 
attention  to  the  partial  change  of  "  quantity,"  which  emotion  pro- 
duces on  "  mutable  "  syllables,  according  to  the  characteristic  tone, 
in  each  instance.  True,  natural,  and  full  "  expression,"  requires,  for 
example,  that  awe,  solemnity,  reverence,  and  similar  feelings,  should 
be  uttered  with  a  comparative  prolongation  of  "  quantity,"  when  tho 
structure  of  syllables  will  admit  the  change,  and  that  hurry,  agita- 
lion,  alarm,  and  other  moods  of  mind  tending  to  the  same  effects, 
should  be  expressed  with  a  rapid  enunciation,  and  "  quantities"  ren 
dered  as  brief  as  possible.] 

1.  — Impatience,  and  Revenge. 

[Macduff,  after  hearing  of  the  massacre  of  his  family  by  tbi 
order  of  Macbeth.] — Shakspeare. 

"  But  gentle  Heaven, 

Impatience:  (S.  q.1) 

"  Cut  short  all  intermission :  front  to  front, 
Bring  thou  this  fiend  of  Scotland  and  myself; 

Revenge:  (L.  q.2) 

"  Within  my  sword's  length  set  him ;  —  if  he  'scarpc, 
Heaven  forgive  him  too  ! " 

1  Shorter  quantity.  2  Longer  quantity. 


"quantity."  151 

2.  —  Cheerfulness,  and  Scorn. 

Cheerfulness:   (S.  q.) 

[The  banished  Duke,  in  the  forest,  to  nis  friends.] — Shakspecre 

"  Now  my  co-mates,  and  brothers  in  exile, 
Hath  not  old  custom  made  this  life  more  sweet 
Than  that  of  painted  pomp  ?  " 

Scorn:  (L.  q.) 
£Satan  to'  Ithuriel  and  Zepiion.] — Milton. 

"  Know  ye  not  me  ?     Ye  knew  me  once  no  mate 
For  you ;  there  sitting  where  ye  durst  not  soar." 

3  — Reproachful  Interrogation,  and  Indignant  Surprise. 

Reproachful  Interrogation :  (S.  q.) 

[Demosthenes  to  the  Athenians.] 

"  Will  you  forever,  Athenians,  do  nothing  but  walk  up  and 
down  the  city,  asking  one  another  '  What  news  ? ' 

Indignant  Surprise:  (L.  q.) 
"  '  What  news  ! '  —  Can  anything  be  more  new  than  that  a 
man  of  Macedonia  should  lord  it  over  Athens,  and  give  laws 
to  all  Greece  ?  " 

4.  — Surprise,  and  Contempt. 

Surprise:  (S.  q.) 

[lUn^ro,  to  Macbeth,  on  the  vanishing  of  the  Witches.] — Shahs* 
peare. 

"  The  earth  hath  b2*bbles,  as  the  water  has  , 
And  these  are  of  them." 

Contempt:  (L.  q.) 
[From  Dryden's  Ode  for  Saint  Cecilia's  Dat.J 

"  War,  he  sung,  was  toil  and  trouble,  — - 
Honor,  but  an  empty  bz^bble." 


152  ORTHOPHONY. 

5. — Impatience,  and  Awe. 
Impatience:  (S.  q.) 
[Cassius,  in  the  quarrel  with  Brutus.] — Shakspean* 
"  Ye  gods  !  ye  gods  '  must  I  endure  all  this  ?  " 

Awe  :  (L.  q.) 

[Lear,  in  the  thunder-storm.] — Ibid, 

"  Let  the  great  gods, 
That  keep  this  dreadful  pother  o'er  our  heads 
Find  out  their  enemies  now." 

6. — Tranquillity,  and  Despair. 

Tranquillity :  (M.  q.1)     . 

Anonymous  Lines. 

"  He  in  his  robe  of  virtue  wraps  himself, 
And  smiles  at  Fate's  caprice  ! " 

Despair:    (L.  q.) 
"  Fate  !  do  thy  worst !  " 

PAUSES. 

Time,  when  applied  as  a  measure  of  speech,  prescribes  not  only 
the  length,  or  "  quantity,"  of  sounds,  but  also  that  of  the  pauses,  or 
cessations  of  voice,  which  intervene  between  sentences  and  between 
their  parts ;  as  the  intermissions  of  the  voice  are,  virtually,  though 
rot  nominally,  constituents  of  "  expression,"  whether  we  regarc 
thought  or  feeling.  Without  distinct  and  appropriate  pauses,  wo 
cannot  understand  oral  communication ;  and  without  occasional  im- 
pressive cessations  of  voice,  there  can  be  no  true  sympathy  between 
speaker  and  hearer. 

Pauses,  as  classified  in  elocution,  are  of  two  kinds :  1st, 
those  which  express  emotion;  2d,  those  which  modify  sense, 
or  meaning.  Pausing,  like  utterance,  is  regulated  by  the 
character  of  the  emotion,  or  the  thought  which  is  the  subject 
of  expression.  The  pauses  used  in  the  "expression"  of  all 
grave,  deep,  and  solemn  emotions,  which  incline  to  prolonged 

1  Moderate  quantity. 


153 

"  quantities,"  are  comparatively  long,  and  thus  correspond,  in 
character,  to  the  vocal  sounds  between  which  they  occur,  and 
which  they  aid  by  their  harmonious  effect,  as  in  the  follow- 
ing instances : 

Night,1  II  sable  goddess,  II  from  her  ebon  throne  | 
In  ray  less  majesty  |  now  stretches  forth  I 
Her  leaden  sceptre  |  o'er  a  slumbering  world. 
Silence  II  how  dead!  (Ill  and  darkness  11  how  profound!' 

Brisk,  gay,  and  lively  feelings,  are  distinguished  by  brief 
u  quantities,"  and  corresponding  short  pauses,  as  in  the  fol- 
lowing example : 

"  Haste  thee  I  Nymph,  |  and  bring  with  thee  I 
Mirth  I  and  youthful  jollity,  | 
Quips  and  cranks  I  and  wanton  wiles,  | 
Nods  and  becks  I  and  wreathed  smiles." 

The  pauses  of  sense  or  meaning,  are  of  various  lengths, 
according  to  the  portions  of  speech  which  they  are  employed 
to  separate ;  thus,  we  observe  the  long  pauses  between  the 
principal  parts  of  a  discourse,  the  somewhat  shorter  pauses  at 
its  subdivisions,  the  shorter  still  at  paragraphs,  and  the 
shorter  than  even  these,  at  periods.  Within  a  sentence 
itself,  we  can  trace  distinctly,  in  some  instances,  a  principal 
pause  at  the  middle,  or  the  pause  of  compound  clauses ;  and 
perhaps  an  inferior  one,  at  or  near  the  middle  of  each  half,  or 
the  pause  of  simple  clauses;  and,  on  still  closer  examination, 
we  find  occasional  shorter  pauses  in  these  subordinate  por- 
tions, or  the  pause  of  phrases ;  and  slight  pauses  even  between 
words.  The  following  sentence  will  exemplify  these  grada- 
tions of  pausing. 

"  As  we  perceive  the  shadow  '  to  have  moved  along  the  dial- 
plate,  |  but  did  not  perceive  its  moving ;  II  and  it  appears  '  that 
the  grass  has  grown,  |  though  nobody  I  ever  saw  it  grow:  II II 
so  the  advances  we  make  in  knowledge,  |  consist  of  minute 

1  The  marks  indicate  the  ;alue  or  length  of  the  pauses,  fr»m  ||||  the 
within  a  sentence,  t;o  '  the  shortest. 


154  ORTHOPHONY. 

successive  steps ;  II  and  we  are  unconscious  of  them  1  until  we 
look  back,  |  and  thus  become  aware  I  of  the  distance  I  to 
which  we  have  attained. " 

Pauses  have  sometimes  been  classified  as  follows :  1st,  Poetic  and 
oratorical  pauses,  or  those  which  express  emotion,  and  which  are 
sometimes  termed  "  impassioned  "  or  "  impressive  ;"  2d,  u  Rhetorical 
pauses,"  or  those  which  divide  a  discourse  into  its  heads  and  subdi' 
visions,  and  those  which  the  sense  and  structure  of  a,  sentence  demand, 
when  taken  in  conjunction,  as  in  the  prose  example  preceding. 
These  pauses  are  addressed  to  the  ear,  and,  when  they  occur  in  a 
sentence,  may,  or  may  not,  be  indicated  to  the  eye,  by  the  ordinary 
punctuation ;  3d,  Grammatical  pauses,  —  the  comma,  semicolon,  colon, 
and  period,  —  which  are  founded  on  the  syntactical  structure  and  sub' 
division  of  sentences.  These  pauses  are  addressed  to  the  eye)  and 
are  always  indicated  by  the  usual  points ;  4th,  Prosodial  pauses, 
which  are  used  only  in  verse. 

I. rOETIC   AND   ORATORICAL   PAUSES. 

These  pauses  of  emotion, — as  they  are  sometimes  termed, 
—  are  produced,  for  the  most  part,  by  feelings  of  solemnity 
and  pathos,  or  by  the  affectation  of  these,— as  in  the  style  of 
intentional  exaggeration  and  bombast,  for  the  effect  of  bur* 
lesque. 

Pauses  of  this  description  are  sometimes  superadded  to  the 
usual  grammatical  points,  and  sometimes  are  thrown  in 
before  or  after,  (sometimes  both  before  and  after,)  an  impas- 
sioned expression  or  emphatic  word,  in  vivid  passages  of 
poetry  or  of  declamatory  prose, — without  regard  to  the  gram- 
matical punctuation ;  and  their  length  depends  entirely  on  the 
feeling  expressed  in  the  passage  in  which  they  occur ;  they 
are  long  in  solemn,  and  short  in  lively  style. 

Young  readers,  in  particular,  are  often  deficient  in  this  most  strik- 
L* y  and  impressive  of  all  the  effects  of  appropriate  reading  and  reci 
tation.  It  becomes,  therefore,  a  matter  of  great  moment,  in  practice, 
to  cultivate  the  habit  of  watching  the  effect  of  full  and  long  pauses, 
introduced  at  appropriate  places.  Without  these  the  most  solemn 
passages  of  Scripture,  and  the  poetry  of  Milton  and  of  Young,  produce 
no  effect,  comparatively,  on  the  mind ;  while  reading,  aided  by  their 
"  expressive  silence,"  seems  to  be  inspired  with  an  unlimited  power 
ever  the  sympathies  of  the  soul. 

It  will  be  useful,  here,  to  review,  once,  on  purpose,  the  examples 
prescribed  for  practice  on  long  "  quantities  "  and  "  indefinite  "  sylla 
bles,  so  as  to  trace  the  inseparable  connection  between  the  effect  of 


PAUSES.  155 

these  and  of  long  pauses.  The  repetition  of  columns  of  words  from 
the  chapter  on  enunciation,  will  also  be  of  great  service,  if  the  prac- 
tice is  varied  occasionally,  so  as  to  produce  the  pauses  of  various 
moods  of  emotion,  from  the  ordinary  rate  of  "  expression"  to  the 
most  solemn  and  impressive. 

EXAMPLES    OF    POETIC    AND    ORATORICAL   PAUSES 

(Impassioned  and  Impressive  Style.) 

1.  —  Alarm,  and  Fear. 

| The  Ball  at  Brussels,  on  the  eve  of  Waterloo.]  —  Byron, 

•*  And  ah  went  merry  as  a  marriage  bell  : 

But  hush !  ||  ||  hark !  ||  ||  a  deep  sound  ||  strikes  like  a  rising  knell ! n 

2. — Awe,  and  Terror. 

[Shipwreck.]  — Wilson. 

11  Many  ports  will  exult  at  the  gleam  of  her  mast : 

Hush !  1|  hush !  ||  thou  vain  dreamer !  ||  this  hour  ||  ||  is  her  last.  H  {| 

Her  keel  hath  struck  on  a  hidden  rock ;  I  l 
And  her  planks  are  torn  asunder  ;  I 

And  down  come  her  masts  with  a  reeling  shock,  I 
And  a  hideous  crash||  like  thunder!  " 

3. — Horror. 

[Bernardo  del  Carpio,  discovering  that  king  Alphonso  has  led  him 
forth  to  salute,  not  the  living  person,  rut  the  lifeless  body, 
of  his  father.]  — Mrs.  Hemans. 

n  A  lowly  knee  to  earth  he  bent,  —  his  father's  hand  he  took —  ||  j| 

"What  was  there  in  its  touch,  that  all  his  fiery  spirit  shook  ?  ||  || 

That  hand  was  cold !  ||  ||  a  frozen  thing :  —  ||  ||  it  dropped  from  his  like 

lead!  ||  || 
He  looked  up  to  the  face  above — 1|  the  face  was  of  the  dead :  ||  || 

A  ptume  waved  o'er  the  noble   brow  — 1|  that  brow  was  fixed  and 

white :  ||  || 
He  met,  at  last,  his  father's  eyes  — 1|  ||  but  in  them  was  no  sight !  [('J 
Up  from  the  ground  he  sprang,  and  gazed — 1|  j|  but  who  could  painl 

that  gaze  ?  || 
They  husned  their  very  hearts,  ||  that  saw  its  horror  and  amaze  " 

1  Agitating  emotions,  sucn  as  those  ot  alarm,  hurry,  terror,  and  confusion. 
reduce  the  usual  pauses  to  ihe  shortest  possible  duration  ;  so  as  to  correspond 
to  the  xapid  and  breathless  utterance  inseparable  from  such  feelings. 


156  ORTHOPHONY. 

4. — Stillness,  and  Awe. 

[Night,  from  the  "Night  Thoughts."] — Young 

"Creation  sleeps  :  ||||  'tis  as  the  general  pulse  of  life  |  stood  still  {] 
And  nature  made  a  pause,  ||  an  awful  pause,  ||  || 
Prophetic  :>f  her  end ! w 

5. — Solemnity,  and  Triumph. 

[Cato,  exulting  in  the   contemplation  of  the  immortality  of  trx 
Soul.]  — Addison. 

"  The  stars  |  shall  fade  away,  II  the  sun  '  himself  | 
Grow  dim  '  with  age,  ||  and  Nature  |  sink  '  in  years; 
But  thou  |  shalt  flourish  '  in  immortal  youth,  || 
Unhurt  |  amidst  the  war  of  elements,  || 
The  wreck  of  matter,  ||  and  the  crush  of  worlds." 

Q.— Grief. 

[Adam's  Lamentation  over  the  fall  of  Eve.] — Milton, 

"  0  fairest  of  creation !  ||  last  |  and  best  | 
Of  all  God's  works,  ||  creature  in  whom  excelled 
Whatever  can  to  sight  or  thought  be  formed, 
Holy,  |  divine,  |  good,  |  amiable,  |  or  sweet!  || 
How  art  thou  lost,  ||  ||  how  on  a  sudden  '  lost,  || 
Defaced,  ||  deflowered,  ||  and  how  to  death  |  devote!" 

7. — Contrition. 
[Eve  imploring  forgiveness  of  Adam.] — Ibid, 

"  On  me  |  exercise  not 
Thy  hatred  |  for  this  misery  befallen, 
On  me  |  already  lost,  1 1  me  than  thyself 
More  miserable !  ||  ||  both  |  have  sinned,  ||  but  thou  | 
Against  God  |  only,  I  ||  against  God  |  and  thee;  || 
And  to  the  place  of  judgment  '  will  return,  || 
There  |  with  my  cries  •  importune  Heaven,  that  all 
The  sentence  |  from  thy  head  removed,  may  light 
On  me,  ||  sole  cause  !  to  thee  |  of  all  this  woe,  |] 
Ms,     -Tie  only,  ||  just  object  of  His  ire  ! " 


PAUSES.  157 

8  — Remorse,  and  Despair. 
Satan  recalling  the  boast  with  which  he  arrayed  his  legions,  in 

REBELLION.] Ibid. 

"  Ay  me  !  ||  they  little  know  ' 
How  dearly  I  abide  that  boast  so  vain,  | 
Under  what  torments  |  inwardly  I  groan,  || 
While  they  adore  me  on  the  throne  of  hell !  || 
With  diadem  !  and  sceptre  '  high  advanced  | 
The  lower  still  I  fall,  ||  only  supreme 
In  misery!  ||  ||  Such  joy  |  ambition  finds." 

9.  — Horror. 

[Burke  s  description  of  the  desolation  effected  by  Hyder  Ali 
and  his  son.] — Burke. 

"  So  completely  did  these  masters  in  their  art,  Hyder  Ali, 
and  his  more  ferocious  son,  absolve  themselves  of  their  impi- 
ous vow,  that  when  the  British  armies  traversed,  as  they  did, 
the  Carnatic,  for  hundreds  of  miles,  in  all  directions, — 
through  the  whole  line  of  their  march,  |  they  did  not  see  one 
man,  |  not  one  woman,  ||  not  one  child,  ||  ||  not  one  four-footed 
beast  ||  of  any  description  whatever.  One  |  dead  |  uniform  | 
silence  ||  reigned  |  over  the  whole  region." 

\  10. — Oratorical  Interrogation. 

[Brutus's  harangue  to  the   people,  after  the  assassination  of 
Cesar.]  — Shakspeare. 

"  Who 's  here  so  base  that  would  be  a  bondman  ?  — 1|  If 
any,  speak;  ||  for  him  have  I  offended.  ||  Who  's  here  so 
rude,  that  would  not  be  a  Roman? — 1|  If  any,  speak;  |[  for 
him  have  I  offended.  ||  |  Who's  here  so  vile,  that  will  not 
love  his  country? — 1|  If  any,  speak;  ||  for  him  have  I 
offended. —  ||  ||  I  pause  for  a  reply." 


II. - 


RHETORICAL"    PAUSES. 


These  are  of  great  practical  utility  in  reading ;  as,  besides 
prescribing  the  indispensable  long   pauses   at  heads  of  dis- 
course and  paragraphs,  they  direct  the  voice  to  many  cessa- 
14 


1 58  ORTHOPHONY. 

tions  of  utterance,  which  are  not  indicated  by  the  usual 
punctuation  of  sentences.  Their  chief  use  is  to  supply  the 
deficiency  arising  from  the  inadequacy  of  points,  or  gram- 
matical punctuation,  to  mark  all  the  places  at  which  a  pause 
necessarily  occurs  in  reading. 

The  "  rhetorical  "  pauses  often  coincide  with  the  usual  points  ;  but 
they  apply,  also,  in  many  cases  in  which  no  point  is  used.  The 
common  grammatical  punctuation,  (indicated  by  the  comma,  semi- 
colon, colon,  and  period,)  coincides,  in  most  instances,  with  the  ces- 
sations of  voice  which  meaning  requires.  But  this  is  not  always  the 
case ;  as  they  sometimes  occur  where  the  syntax  of  a  sentence  is 
interrupted  or  terminated,  for  the  time,  but  where  the  sense  requires 
no  pause.  "  Rhetorical  "  pauses  regard  the  sense  of  a  sentence,  and 
are  intended  for  the  ear :  grammatical  punctuation  refers  to  the  syn- 
tactical structure  of  a  sentence,  and  is  addressed  to  the  eye.  The 
"  rhetorical  "  pauses  are  of  indefinite  length,  and  always  vary,  as  to 
their  duration,  with  the  sentiment  and  the  utterance,  as  brisk  and 
animated,  or  slow  and  grave.  Grammatical  pauses  have  a  fixed  and 
uniform  value,  as  representing  the  component  parts  of  a  sentence  as 
such,  and,  in  reading  aloud,  can  seldom  be  appropriately  used,  as 
sometimes  directed,  by  a  process  of  counting,  —  "  one,  at  a  comma ; 
two,  at  a  semicolon;"  &c,  since  the  feelings  which  are  expressed 
by  the  sentence,  may,  in  one  part  of  it,  be  lively  and  rapid,  and  in 
another  solemn  and  slow  ;  as  in  the  following  instance. 

"  Your  house  '  is  finished,  '  sir,  |  at  last ; 
A  narrower  house,  ||  ||  a  house  of  clay." 

"  Rhetorical"  pauses  may  be  briefly  classed  in  the  manner 
before  exemplified,  in  application  to  long  and  compound  sen- 
tences, as  dividing  the  whole,  first,  into  two  main  parts,  or 
compound  clauses,  —  then,  these  into  two  minor  portions,  01 
simple  clauses, — these  again  into  phrases, — last  of  all,  these 
phrases  into  words. 

It  is  not  meant  that  in  every  compound  sentence  all  these  division* 
or  subdivisions  are  invariably  found,  or  that  there  may  not  be  several 
successive  principal  and  subordinate  parts  in  one  sentence.  But  in 
most  compound  sentences,  and  in  many  simple  sentences,  several  of 
ihem  will  be  found,  and  particularly  the  last  two,  —  the  rhetorics. 
pause  between  clauses  and  words,  —  as  in  the  following  instances : 
"In  a  few  days  |  the  country  was  overrun."  "They  fled  '  in 
haste."     "  The  enemy  '  approached." 

The  careful  observance  of  the  "  rhetorical "  pause,  is  one  of  the 
chief  means  of  distinctness  in  the  expression  of  thought.  In  narra- 
tion and  description,  and  in  plain  didactic  style,  it  is  equally  impor- 
tant that  the  successive  sour.ds  of  the  voice  should  be  relieved  from 


PAUSES.  159 

each  other,  in  portions  best  adapted  to  present  the  component  parts 
of  the  whole  in  a  clear,  distinct,  impressive  manner,  according  to 
their  comparative  length  and  importance.  The  thought  or  sentiment 
which  is  thus  communicated,  falls  on  the  ear  with  a  definite  and  sat- 
isfactory succession  of  sounds,  which  the  mind  easily  receives  and 
appreciates.  The  parts  being  thus  exactly  given,  each  takes  its 
own  due  weight,  and  at  the  same  time,  enhances  the  effect  of  the 
whole.  The  result  is  that  the  communication  is  fully  understood  and 
makes  its  just  impression. 

But  young  readers,  especially,  are  apt  to  hasten  on,  in  the  art  of 
reading  till  they  come  to  a  full  stop  ;  and  even  then  to  slight  the  due 
pause.  This  hurried  mode  of  reading,  renders  it  impossible  to  give 
a  sentiment  force  or  weight  to  the  ear.  Much  time,  therefore,  should 
be  spent  in  reading  sentences  of  an  unimpassioned  character,  such  as 
usually  require  the  most  frequent  application  of  the  "  rhetorical  " 
pause.  The  following  examples  will  serve  to  suggest  the  most  im- 
portant applications  of  this  pause. 

EXAMPLES    OF    THE    "  RHETORICAL "    PAUSE. 

I. — Between  Phrases. 
Phrases  commencing  with  a  Preposition. 

1.  "  Depart  to  the  house  which  has  '  in  this  city  !  been 
prepared  •  for  thy  residence." 

2.  "  My  heart  was  wounded  '  with  the  arrow  of  affliction, 
and  my  eyes  became  dim  '  with  sorrow." 

3.  "  To  increase  the  austerity  of  my  life,  I  frequently 
watched  all  night,  sitting  at  the  entrance  of  the  cave  '  with 
my  face  to  the  east,  resigning  myself  '  to  the  secret  influences 
of  the  Prophet." 

4.  "  When  I  awaked,  I  laid  my  forehead  upon  the  ground, 
and  blessed  the  Prophet  |  for  the  instruction  of  the  morning." 

5.  "  The  king,  whose  doubts  were  now  removed,  looked 
up  |  with  a  smile  that  communicated  the  joy  of  his  mind." 

Phrases  commencing  with  an  Adverb. 

1.  "He  has  passed  to  that  world  |  where  the  weary  are  at 
rest." 

2.  "  The  voice  of  Heaven  summons  you  in  these  hours  | 
when  the  leaves  fall,  and  the  winter  is  gathering." 

3.  "  Be  entreated  to  make  the  decisive  effort  |  ere  it  be  too 
Ute." 


160  ORTHOPHONY. 

4.  "  He  continued  steadfast  in  his  purpose  |  while  others 
wavered." 

Phrases  commencing  with  a  Conjunction. 

1.  "  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  |  than  to  receive." 

2.  "  Yet  I  know  not  |  whether  my  danger  is  a  reality  |  cr 
a  dream." 

3.  "In  the  spirit  of  sympathy,  we  call  on  rocks  '  and 
streams  '  and  forests  ||  to  witness  |  and  share  our  emotions." 

4.  "  The  same  sun  which  now  marks  the  autumn  of  the 
year,  will  again  arise  in  his  brightness,  and  bring  along  with 
him  the  promise  of  the  spring  |  and  all  the  magnificence  of 
summer." 

5.  "  The  voice  of  despair  now  whispers  |  that  all  exertion 
is  in  vain." 

6.  "  We  are  often  deceived  *  because  we  are  willing  to  be 
deceived." 

II. — Between  Words. 
The  Nominative  and  the  Verb. 

1.  "  The  breeze  |  died  away,  as  the  sun  |  sank  behind  tho 
hills." 

2.  "  The  smoke  |  rises  not  through  the  trees :  for  the 
honors  of  the  grove  |  are  fallen." 

3.  "  Weeping  |  may  endure  for  a  night ;  but  joy  |  cometh 
in  the  morning." 

Ellipsis. 
c<  Add  to  your  faith  virtue ;  and  to  virtue  |  knowledge ;  and 
to  knowledge  |  temperance ;  and  to  temperance  |  patience.1 

III. GRAMMATICAL   PAUSES. 

'Die  due  observance  of  the  pauses  indicated  by  grammatical  punc- 
tuation, is  one  of  the  useful  and  effectual  means  of  arresting  the 
attention  of  young  learners,  and  accustoming  them  to  mark  distinctly 
the  component  portions  of  a  sentence.  But  the  common  fault  or 
school  reading,  and,  sometimes,  of  professional  exercises, — a  uniform 

i  For  farther  statement  and  illustration  of  "  rhetorical "  pauses,  see 
"  American  Elocutionist."  The  "  prosodial  pauses  "  will  be  found  on  a  sub- 
sequent page  of  this  manual,  and,  at  greater  length,  in  the  "Elocutionist." 


PAUSES.  161 

and  mechanical  style, -^  is,  in  part,  owing  to  exact  compliance  with 
the  direction  to  pause,  invariably,  for  a  given  time  at  each  point.  A 
change  of  feeling,  or  a  shade  of  meaning,  may  lengthen,  shorten,  or 
destroy  the  usual  pause  at  a  comma.  The  syntax  of  a  sentence  may 
demand  a  separating  point,  where  oral  expression  glides  on  contin- 
uously, and  allows  no  break.  The  converse  is  as  true.  The  rule 
of  syntax  may  forbid  a  comma  where  a  sudden  change  of  feeling  may 
produce  a  pause  longer  than  that  usually  made  at  a  period.  —  A  most 
instructive  lesson  in  elocution  is  given  by  Sterne,  in  his  satirical 
sketch  of  the  literal  critic,  with  stop-watch  in  his  hand,  taking  note 
of  Garrick's  "  ungrammatical "  pause  between  the  nominative  and 
the  verb. 

The  mistake,  however,  is  too  generally  sanctioned  by  books  and 
teachers,  that  the  comma,  semicolon,  &c,  are  intended  as  guides  to 
the  ear.  They  do,  no  doubt,  incidentally,  serve  this  purpose,  —  but 
by  no  means  uniformly.  The  design  of  grammatical  punctuation  is 
to  aid  the  eye  of  the  reader,  in  resolving  a  sentence  into  its  syntactical 
portions.  These  often  coincide,  in  phrases  and  clauses,  with  the 
natural  cessations  of  voice,  which  mark  the  divisions  and  subdivisions 
of  utterance  that  constitute  the  portions  of  the  oral  expression  of  a 
thought :  they  enable  the  reader  to  refer  a  given  word  or  clause  to 
another  at  a  distance  from  it  in  place,  but  connected  with  it  in  sense, 
and  thus  aid  his  apprehension  of  its  meaning.  But,  in  many  cases, 
this  coincidence  of  grammatical  and  rhetorical  pausing  does  not  take 
place.  Even  the  close  punctuation  adopted  in  modern  typography, 
does  not  present  all  the  pauses  which  feeling  and  sentiment,  or 
abstract  thought  itself,  require  ;  as  may  be  seen  by  running  the  eye 
over  the  rhetorical  and  other  pauses  marked  in  the  exercises  occurring 
in  preceding  pages.  Nor  is  it  possible  to  read  correctly,  in  many 
instances,  without  omitting  a  pause  at  the  grammatical  points ;  as 
may  be  observed  even  in  the  familiar  phrases,  "  Yes,  sir,"  —  "  no, 
sir."  The  comma,  if  followed  as  a  guide,  would  here  produce  an 
awkward,  limping  gait  of  voice,  —  resembling  that  of  a  young  child 
in  its  first  lessons. 

The  exercise  of  reading  aloud  has  but  one  true,  safe,  and  uniform 
standard,  —  the  ear,  —  or,  rather  the  intuitive  perception  of  the  mind. 
The  comma  and  other  ocular  points  are,  at  best,  but  collateral  and 
incidental  aids,  —  not  always  to  be  depended  on ;  and,  sometimes, 
they  are  to  be  regarded  as  impediments  which  emotion  is  to  put  down 
in  order  to  attain  true  expression. 

The  general  rule  of  elocution,  then,  as  regards  tht  comma, 
semico.on,  and  colon,  if  we  use  them  as  guides  to  the  voice, 
— must  be,  to  follow  them  only  so  far  as  they  coincide  with 
tha  meaning,  and  to  lengthen  or  shorten,  or  omit  the  pauses 
corresponding  to  them,  as  the  sentiment  or  emotion  expressed 
in  a  sentence  may  require,  in  slow  or  in  lively  utterance;  — 
but  especially  to  remember  that  there  may  be  a  lcng  pause 
of  feeling,  where  no  grammatical  point  occurs. 
14* 


162  ORTHOPHONY. 

"  MOVEMENT." 

The  application  of  "  time  "  to  speech,  includes,  in  addition  fo 
points  already  discussed,  the  consideration  of  the  rate  of  voice  in  suc- 
cessive sounds,  —  sometimes  regulated  by  the  predominating  "  quan- 
tities "  of  a  passage,  whether  these  be  long,  as  in  the  solemn  and 
slow  utterance  of"  indefinite"  syllables,  or  short,  as  in  the  brisk  and 
rapid  utterance  of  "immutable"  syllables.  "Movement,"  how- 
ever, has  its  primary  foundation  on  emotion;  and  although,  in  poetry, 
the  "  quantities  "  are  often  beautifully  adapted,  by  the  poet's  natural 
ear  and  prosodial  skill,  to  the  expression  of  emotion,  they  are  not 
uniformly  so  ;  and  in  prose,  — which  exhibits  the  effect  of  "  move- 
ment"  as  distinctly  as  poetry,  —  less  regard  is  usually  paid  to  the 
effect  of  mere  "  quantity."  "  Movement,"  therefore,  requires  a  dis- 
tinct attention,  as  a  separate  element  of  expression  in  the  voice,  and 
of  effect  in  elocution. 

The  term  "  movement,"  for  which  the  word  "rate"  is 
sometimes  substituted,  has  the  same  application  in  elocutioa 
as  in  music ;  and  while  "  quantity  "  regards  single  sounds  as 
long  or  short,  "movement"  regards  successive  or  consecutive 
sounds  as  fast  or  slow.  It  unites,  too,  with  "quantity"  in 
regulating  the  length  of , pauses ;  as  we  find  that  slow  "  move- 
ment," as  well  as  long  "  quantity,"  requires  long  pauses  ;  and 
that  brisk,  or  rapid  "  movement,"  and  brief  "  quantity," 
equally  require  short  pauses. 

"  Movement,"  in  elocution,  is  not  measured  with  the  com- 
parative exactness  implied  in  the  musical  terms,  adagio,  an- 
dante, mezzo,  vivace,  allegro,  presto,  &c.  It  approaches, 
however,  to  a  considerable  degree  of  definiteness  in  its  use 
of  the  designations  "slowest,"  or  "very  slow;"  "slow;" 
"  moderate ;"  "  lively ;"  "  brisk,"  or  "  quick ;"  and  "  rapid,' 
"  quickest,"  or  "  very  quick." 

The  "  slowest,"  or  "  very  slow  movement,"  is  exemplified 
in  the  expression  of  the  deepest  emotions  of  ;he  soul ;  as  hor- 
ror, awe,  profound  reverence  and  solemnity,  and  adoration. 
—  The  "slow  movement"  characterizes  the  utterance  cf 
gloom,  'melancholy,  grief,  pathos,  sublimity,  solemnity  and 
reverence,  in  their  usual  form,  profound  repose,  grandeur 
majesty,  vastness,  power,  and  splendor.  —  "Moderate  move- 
ment" is  the  usual  rate  of  utterance  in  unimpassioned  lan- 
guage.    It  belongs  to  common  narration  and  description,  and 


14  MOVEMENT.'  163 

W)  didactic  thought.  The  rhetorical  modes  of  style  to  which 
it  is  applicable,  are  those  which  are  denominated  the  "  dry/' 
the  "  plain,"  and  the  "  neat." — "  Lively  movement"  implies 
emotion  in  that  gentle  form  which  does  not  exceed  liveliness, 
or  animation.  The  lower  degrees  of  all  vivid  feeling,  are 
expressed  by  this  style  of  "  movement."  A  slight  degree  of 
joy  is  usually  the  under  current  of  its  effect.  — "  Quick"  or 
u  brisk  movement,"  is  characteristic  of  gay,  exhilarated,  and 
glad  emotion  :  the  full  feeling  of  joy  is  implied  in  its  "  ex- 
pression." It  gives  utterance  to  all  playful,  humorous,  and 
mirthful  moods.  It  sometimes,  on  the  other  hand,  gives  its 
characteristic  effect  to  fear.  —  The  "movement"  designated  as 
"  quickest,"  "  very  quick,"  or  "  rapid,"  is  that  of  haste,  hurry, 
alarm,  confusion,  and  fear,  when  rising  to  terror. 

It  is  evident  from  the  very  nature  of  "  movement,' '  that  it  must  be 
an  element  of  immense  power,  in  expression.  The  funeral  march 
suggests  to  the  ear  its  effect,  in  music,  as  associated  with  awe,  gloom, 
and  grief-;  and  the  music  of  the  dance  reminds  us  of  its  power  over 
the  feelings  of  gladness  and  exhilaration.  The  grave  psalm,  and  the 
song  of  serious  sentiment,  express,  in  their  measured  regularity,  the 
adaptation  of  gentle  and  "  moderate  movement  "  to  tranquil  and  sedate 
feeling. 

Similar  effects,  in  degree,  characterize  the  use  of  the  voice,  in 
recitation  and  in  reading.  Appropriate  elocution  accommodates  the 
movement  of  the  voice  to  every  mood  of  thought,  —  from  the  slowest, 
prolonged,  and  lingering  utterance  of  deep  contemplation,  and  pro" 
found  awe,  to  the  swift  and  rapid  strains  of  lyric  rapture  and  ecstasy. 
Every  mood  of  mind  has  its  appropriate  "  movement,"  or  "  rate  "  of 
utterance,  as  definitely  expressed  as  its  "  quality  "  of  voice,  its  char- 
acteristic "force,"  or  its  peculiar  "pitch,"  "slide,"  or  "wave." 
Utterance,  to  be  natural  and  effective,  must  have  the  genuine  expres- 
sion of  its  appropriate  "  movement."  Solemnity  cannot  exist,  to  the 
ear,  without  slowness,  nor  gaiety  without  briskness  of  utterance, 
gravity  without  sedate  style,  nor  animation  without  a  lively  "  move- 
ment." 

The  power  of"  movement,"  in  the  elocution  of  a  skilful  reader  01 
speaker,  is  indefinite  ;  as  we  may  observe  in  the  difference  between  a 
schooIi)oy  gabbling  through  his  task,  in  haste  to  get  rid  of  it,  and  a 
great  tragedian,  whose  whole  soul  is  rapt  in  the  part  of  Cato  utter- 
ing the  soliloquy  on  immortality,  or  Hamlet  musing  on  the  great 
themes  of  duty,  life,  and  death. 

A  command  over  the  "lively"  and  "brisk  movements"  of  the 
voice,  is  not  less  important  than  the  power  of  slow  and  solemn 
utterance.  The  style  of  reading  which  is  most  frequently  intro- 
duced to  enliven  the  evening  circle  at  home,  requires  of  the  reader 


164  ORTHOPHONY. 

the  power  to  "  trip  it  as  he  goes,"  in  the  mood  of  gay  description, 
light  satire,  vivid  dialogue,  and  droll  humor. 

The  three  principal  faults  of"  movement,"  which  are  exemplified 
in  the  common  practice  of  reading-,  are  uniform  slowness,  or,  perhaps 
a  drawling  style  ;  habitual  rapidity,  which  prevents  all  deep  and  im- 
pressive effect,  and,  perhaps,  causes  indistinctness  of  enunciation;  a 
uniform  u  moderate''''  "  movement, "  which  never  yields  to  ary 
natural  influence  of  emotion,  —  so  as  to  become  appropriately 
expressive,  and  pass  from  grave  to  gay,  or  the  reverse,  by  a  change 
in  the  gait  of  the  voice,  —  but  utters,  automaton-like,  all  feelings  in 
the  same  unmeaning  and  mechanical  style  ;  the  voice  marching  on, 
with  one  uniform  measured  step,  over  all  varieties  of  surface,  a& 
regards  the  tenor  of  language  and  the  subject. 

The  following  examples  of  "movement"  should  be  assiduously 
practised,  in  conjunction  with  the  elements  and  with  tables  of  words, 
selected  as  exercises  for  this  purpose,  from  the  chapter  on  enuncia- 
tion. The  repetition  of  such  exercises  should  be  continued  till  the 
student  can  execute  with  perfect  precision,  and  with  the  utmost  read 
iness,  all  the  "  movements  "  enumerated  in  the  classification. 

EXAMPLES    OF   "  MOVEMENT." 

I. — "Slowest  Movement" 

Amazement,  Awe,  and  Horror. 

[From  Byron's  Dream  of  Darkness.] 

(•'Aspirated  pectoral  quality:"  "  Suppressed  "  force  :  "Median 
stress:"  "Lowest  pitch:"  Prevalent  "monotone:"  Extremely 
long  pauses.) 

"  I  had  a  dream  which  was  not  all  a  dream. 
The  bright  sun  was  extinguished ;  and  the  stars 
Did  wander  darkling  in  the  eternal  space, 
Kayless,  and  pathless ;  and  the  icy  earth 
Swung  blind  and  blackening  in  the  moonless  air ; 
Morn  came,  and  went, — and  came,  and  brought  no  day 

"  The  world  was  void . 
The  populous  and  the  powerful  was  a  lump, — 
Seasonless  herbless,  treeless,  manless,  lifeless, — 
A  lump  of  death — a  chaos  of  hard  clay. 
The  rivers,  lakes,  and  ocean,  all  stood  still; 
And  nothing  stirred  within  their  silent  depths : 
Ships,  sailorless,  lay  rotting  on  the  sea ; 
And  their  masts  fell  down  piecemeal :  as  they  dropped 


"MOVEMENT."  165 

Thay  slept  on  the  abyss  without  a  surge ;  — 
The  waves  were  dead ;  the  tides  were  in  their  grave 
The  moon,  their  mistress,  had  expired  before ; 
The  winds  were  withered  in  the  stagnant  air ; 
And  the  clouds  perished :  Darkness  had  no  need 
Of  aid  from  them, — She  was  the  universe." 

2. — Profound  Reverence,  Solemnity,  and  Adoration. 

[Derzhavin's  Hymn.]  — Bowring. 

4*  Effusive  and  expulsive  orotund:"  "Pectoral  quality:"  "Sub- 
dued "  force:  "Median  stress:"  "Low  pitch:"  Prevalent 
"downward  slide,"  occasional  "monotone:"  Pauses  extremely 
Jong.) 

"  Thou  from  primeval  nothingness  didst  call 
First  chaos,  then  existence:  —  Lord!  on  thee 
Eternity  had  its  foundation;  —  all 
Sprung  forth  from  Thee, — of  light,  joy,  harmony, 
Sole  origin  : — all  life,  all  beauty  thine. 
Thy  word  created  all,  and  doth  create ; 
Thy  splendor  fills  all  space  with  rays  divine. 
Thou  art,  and  wert,  and  shalt  be  !  Glorious  !  great ! 
Light-giving,  life-sustaining  Potentate ! " 

II. — "  Slow  Movement.' 

1. — Reverence,  Gratitude,  and  Praise. 

[From  the  Book  of  Psalms.] 

("  Effusive  orotund  quality :"  "  Subdued  "  force  :  "  Median  stress  :w 
"  Low  pitch :"  Prevalent  "  downward  slide  :"  Long  pauses.) 

lt  O  Lord,  our  Lord,  how  excellent  is  Thy  name  in  all  the 
earth    who  hast  set  Thy  glory  above  the  heavens. 

"  When  I  consider  Thy  heavens,  the  work  of  Thy  fingers ; 
the  moon  and  the  stars,  which  Thou  hast  ordained ;  what  is 
man  that  Thou  art  mindful  of  him  ?  and  the  son  of  man,  that 
Thou  visitest  him  ? 

"  For  Thou  hast  made  him  a  little  lower  than  the  angels, 
and  hast  crowned  him  with  glory  and  honor.     Thou  madest 


1 66  ORTHOPHONY. 

him  to  have  dominion  over  the  works  of  T  hy  hands :  Thou 
hast  put  all  things  under  his  feet. 

"  O  Lord,  our  Lord,  how  excellent  is  Thy  name  in  all  the 
earth !" 

2. — Sublimity,  Majesty,  and  Power. 
[From   David's  Psalm   of   Praise,  on  his   deliverance   from   ms 

ENEMIES.] 

ta  Expulsive  orotund:"  "Impassioned"  force :  "  Radical  and  Me- 
dian stress  :"  "  Low  pitch :"  Prevalent  "  downward  slide,"  occa- 
sional "  monotone  :"  Long  pauses.) 

"  Then  the  earth  shook  and  trembled :  the  foundations  of 
heaven  moved  and  shook,  because  he  was  wroth.  There 
went  up  a  smoke  out  of  his  nostrils;  and  fire  out  of  his 
mouth  devoured :  coals  were  kindled  by  it.  He  bowed  the 
heavens,  also,  and  came  down ;  and  darkness  was  under  his 
feet ;  and  he  rode  upon  a  cherub,  and  did  fly ;  and  he  was 
seen  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind ;  and  he  made  darkness 
pavilions  round  about  him,  dark  waters,  and  thick  clouds  of 
the  skies.  The  Lord  thundered  from  heaven,  and  the  Most 
High  uttered  his  voice ;  and  he  sent  out  arrows  and  scattered 
them ;  lightning,  and  discomfited  them.  And  the  channels 
of  the  sea  appeared ;  the  foundations  of  the  world  were  dis- 
covered at  the  rebuking  of  the  Lord,  at  the  blast  of  the  breath 
of  his  nostrils." 

3. — Splendor. 

[The  Palace  of  Pandemonium.]  —  "Milton. 

(  *  Effusive  and  expulsive  orotund  :"  "  Moderate  "  force  :  "  Median 
stress :"  "  Low  pitch :"  Prevalent  "  monotone :"  Pauses  of  mod- 
erate length.) 

"  Anon  out  of  the  earth  a  fabric  huge 
Kose  like  an  exhalation,  with  the  sound 
Of  dulcet  symphonies,  and  voices  sweet, 
Built  like  a  temple,  where  pilasters  round 
Were  set,  and  Doric  pillars,  overlaid 
With  golden  architrave ;  nor  did  there  want 


167 

Cornice,  or  frieze,  with  bossy  sculptures  graven; 

The  roof  was  fretted  gold.     Not  Babylon, 

Nor  great  Alcairo,  such  magnificence 

Equalled  in  all  their  glories,  to  enshrine 

Belus,  or  Serapis,  their  gods  ;  or  seat 

Their  kings,  when  Egypt  with  Assyria  strove 

In  wealth  and  luxury.     The  ascending  pile 

Stood  fixed  her  stately  height :  and  straight  the  doors 

Opening  their  brazen  folds,  discover  wide 

Within,  her  ample  spaces,  o'er  the  smooth 

And  level  pavement :  from  the  arched  roof, 

Pendent  by  subtle  magic,  many  a  row 

Of  starry  lamps,  and  blazing  cressets,  fed 

With  naptha  and  asphaltus,  yielded  light 

As  from  a  sky." 

III.— "Moderate  Movement." 

1. — Narrative  Style. 

[Destruction  of  Carthage.] — Anonymous. 

("Pure    tone:"    "Moderate"    force:     "  Unimpassioned    radical 
stress  :"  "  Middle  pitch  :"  Varied  "  slides :"  Moderate  paises.) 

"  The  city  and  republic  of  Carthage  were  destroyed  by  the 
termination  of  the  third  Punic  war,  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  before  Christ.  The  city  was  in  flames  during 
seventeen  days ;  and  the  news  of  its  destruction  caused  the 
greatest  joy  at  Rome.  The  Roman  senate  immediately 
appointed  commissioners,  not  only  to  raze  the  walls  of  Car- 
thage, but  even  to  demolish  and  burn  the  very  materials  of 
which  they  were  made ;  and,  in  a  few  days,  that  city,  which 
had  once  been  the  seat  of  commerce,  the  model  of  magnifi- 
cence, the  common  storehouse  of  the  wealth  of  nations,  and 
one  of  the  most  powerful  states  in  the  world,  left  behind  no 
trace  of  its  splendor,  of  its  power,  or  even  of  its  existence.  — 
The  history  of  Carthage  is  one  of  the  many  proofs  that  we 
have  of  the  transient  nature  of  worldly  glory  ;  for,  of  nil  her 
grandeur,  not  a  wreck  remains.     Her  own  walls,  like  the 


168  ORTHOPHONY. 

calm  ocean,  that  conceals  forever  the  riches  hid  in  its  un- 
searchable abyss,  now  obscure  all  her  magnificence." 

2. — Descriptive  Style. 

[Aspect  of  Egypt.]  — Addison. 

("  Pure  tone :"  "  Moderate  "  force  :  "  Unimpassioned  radical "  and 
gentle  "median  stress:"  "Middle  pitch:"  Varied  "slides:" 
Moderate  pauses.) 

"  There  cannot  be  a  finer  sight  than  Egypt,  at  two  seasons 
of  the  year.  For,  if  we  ascend  one  of  the  pyramids,  in  the 
months  of  July  and  August,  we  behold,  in  the  swollen  waters 
of  the  Nile,  a  vast  sea,  in  which  numberless  towns  and  vil- 
lages appear,  with  several  causeways  leading  from  place  to 
place ;  the  whole  interspersed  with  groves  and  fruit-trees, 
whose  tops  only  are  visible; — all  which  forms  a  delightful 
prospect.  This  view  is  bounded  by  mountains  and  woods, 
which  terminate, — at  the  utmost  distance  the  eye  can  dis- 
cover,— the  most  beautiful  horizon  that  can  be  imagined. — 
In  winter,  on  the  contrary,  that  is  to  say,  in  the  months  of 
January  and  February,  the  whole  country  is  like  one  contin- 
uous scene  of  beautiful  meadows,  whose  verdure,  enamelled 
with  flowers,  charms  the  eye.  The  spectator  beholds,  on 
every  side,  flocks  and  herds  dispersed  over  all  the  plains, 
with  infinite  numbers  of  husbandmen  and  gardeners.  The 
air  is  then  perfumed  by  the  great  quantity  of  blossoms  on  the 
orange,  lemon,  and  other  trees,  and  is  so  pure  that  a  whole- 
somer  or  more  agreeable  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  world ;  so 
that  nature  being  then  dead,  as  it  were,  in  all  other  climates, 
seems  to  be  alive  only  for  so  delightful  an  abode." 

3. — Didactic  Style. 

[Reason  and  Instinct.] — Addison. 

("Pure  tone:"  "Moderate"  force:  "Unimpassioned  radical 
stress  :"  "  Middle  pitch :"  "  Varied  slides :"  Moderate  pauses.) 

"  One  would  wonder  to  hear  skeptical  men  disputing  for 
the  reason  of  animals,  and  telling  us  it  is  only  our  pride  and 
prejudices  that  will  not  allow  them  the  use  of  that  faculty. 


11  MOVEMENT.''  109 

'<  Reason  shows  itself  m  all  occurrences  of  life ;  whereas 
the  brute  makes  no  discovery  of  such  a  talent  but  in  what 
immediately  regards  his  own  preservation,  or  the  continuance 
of  his  species.  Animals,  in  their  generation,  are  wiser  than 
die  sons  of  men ;  but  their  wisdom  is  confined  to  a  few  par- 
ticulars, and  lies  in  a  very  narrow  compass.  Take  a  brute 
out  of  his  instinct,  and  you  find  him  wholly  deprived  of 
understanding.  —  There  is  not,  in  my  opinion,  anything  more 
mysterious  in  nature,  than  this  instinct  in  animals,  which 
thus  rises  above  reason,  and  falls  infinitely  short  of  it.  It 
cannot  be  accounted  for  by  any  properties  in  matter,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  works  after  so  odd  a  manner,  that  one  cannot 
think  it  the  faculty  of  an  intellectual  being.  For  my  own 
part,  I  look  upon  it  as  upon  the  principle  of  gravitation  in 
bodies,  which  is  not  to  be  explained  by  any  known  qualities 
inherent  in  the  bodies  themselves,  nor  from  any  laws  of 
mechanism,  but  according  to  the  best  notions  of  the  greatest 
philosophers,  is  an  immediate  impression  from  the  First 
Mover,  and  the  Divine  energy  acting  in  the  creatures." 

IV. — "Animated,  or  Lively  Movement" 

1. — Narrative  Style. 

[Successive  decline  of  Popular  Fallacies.] — Goldsmith. 

("Pure    tone:"     "Moderate"    force:    "  Unimpassioned    radical 
stress :"  "  Middle  pitch  :"  Varied  "  slides  :"  Short  pauses.) 

"  I  have  lived  to  see  generals  who  once  had  crowds  halloo- 
ing after  them  wherever  they  went,  who  were  bepraised  by 
newspapers  and  magazines,  —  those  echoes  of  the  voice  of 
ihe  vulgar;  and  yet  they  have  long  sunk  into  merited 
obscurity,  with  scarce  even  an  epitaph  left  to  flatter.  —  A  few 
years  ago,  the  herring-fishery  employed  all  Grub  street :  it 
was  the  topic  in  every  coffee-house,  and  the  burden  of  every 
ballad.  ,  We  were  to  drag  up  oceans  of  gold  from  the  bottom 
of  the  sea:  we  were  to  supply  all  Europe  with  herrings, 
upon  our  own  terms.  At  present,  we  hear  no  more  of  all 
this.     We  have  fished  up  very  little  gold  tha*.  J  can  learn , 


170  ORTHOPHONY. 

nor  do  we  furnish  the  world  with  herrings,  as  was  expected 
« — Let  us  wait  but  a  few  years  longer,  and  we  shall  find  all 
our  expectations  a  herring-fishery. " 

2. — Descriptive  Style. 

[Ridiculousness  of  Self-importance.] — Goldsmith. 

(*'  Pure  tone  :"  "  Moderate  "  force  :  "  Expulsive  median  stress :" 
"  Middle  pitch :"  Varied  "  slides :"  Varied  pauses.) 

11  There  is  scarce  a  village  in  Europe,  and  not  one  univer- 
sity, that  is  not  furnished  with  its  little  great  men.  The 
head  of  a  petty  corporation,  who  opposes  the  designs  of  a 
prince  who  would  tyrannically  force  his  subjects  to  save  their 
best  clothes  for  Sundays;  the  puny  pedant,  who  finds  one 
undiscovered  quality  in  the  polypus,  or  describes  an  unheeded 
process  in  the  skeleton  of  a  mole,  and  whose  mind,  like  his 
microscope,  perceives  nature  only  in  detail ;  the  rhymer,  who 
makes  smooth  verses,  and  paints  to  our  imagination,  when  he 
should  only  speak  to  our  hearts ;  all  equally  fancy  themselves 
walking  forward  to  immortality,  and  desire  the  crowd  behind 
them  to  look  on.  The  crowd  takes  them  at  their  word! 
1  Patriot  philosopher,  and  poet!' are  shouted  in  their  train. 
1  Where  was  there  ever  so  much  merit  seen  ?  no  times  so 
important  as  our  own !  ages,  yet  unborn,  shall  gaze  with 
wonder  and  applause  ! '  To  such  music  the  important  pigmy 
moves  forward,  bustling  and  swelling,  and  aptly  compared  to 
a  puddle  in  a  storm.', 

3. — Didactic  Style, 

[Absurdity  and  Impudence.]  — Addison. 

("Pure    tone:"    "Moderate"    force:     "  Unimpassioned    radicai 
stress  ."  "  Middle  pitch  :"  Varied  "  slides :"  Short  pauses,) 

"  If  we  would  examine  into  the  secret  springs  of  action,  in 
the  impudent  and  the  absurd,  we  shall  find,  though  they 
.  bear  a  groat  resemblance  in  their  behavior,  that  they  move 
upon  very  different  principles.  The  impudent  are  pressing, 
though  they  know  they  are  disagreeable ;  the  absurd  are  im- 
portunate, because  they  think  they  are  acceptable  :  impudence 


'movement"  171 

is  a  vice,  ami  absurdity  a  folly.  Sir  Francis  Bacon  talks 
very  agreeably  upon  the  subject  of  impudence.  He  takes 
notice,  that  the  Orator  being  asked,  what  was  the  first, 
second,  and  third  requisite  to  make  a  fine  speaker?  still 
answered,  Action.  This,  said  he,  is  the  very  outward  form 
of  speaking;  and  yet  it  is  what,  with  the  generality,  has 
more  force  than  the  most  consummate  abilities.  Impudence 
is,  to  the  rest  of  mankind,  of  the  same  use  which  action  is  to 
orators  " 

V. — "Brisk,  Gay,  or  Quick  Movement.'9 

1. — Narrative  Style. 

[Lochinvar's  Exploit  of  carrying  off  Ellen  of  Netherby.] — Scott. 

(Haste,  Joy,  Hurry.  —  "  Expulsive  and  explosive  orotund:"  "  Im- 
passioned' '  and  shouting  force :  "  Impassioned  radical  and  median 
stress :*'  "High  pitch:"  Varied  "slides:"  Extremely  short 
pauses.) 

"  One  touch  to  her  hand,  and  one  word  in  her  ear, — 
When  they  reached  the  hall  door,  and  the  charger  stood  near ; 
So  light  to  the  croupe  the  fair  lady  he  swung,  — 
So  light  to  the  saddle  before  her  he  sprung ! 
1  She  is  won !  —  we  are  gone,  over  bank,  bush,  and  scaur ; 
They  '11  have  fleet  steeds  that  follow, '  quoth  young  Lochinvar. 

"  There  was  mounting  'mong  Graemes  of  the  Netherby  clan  ; 

Forsters,  Fenwicks,  and  Musgraves,  they  rode  and  they  ran :  — 

There  was  racing,  and  chasing,  on  Cannobie  Lee ; 

But  the  lost  bride  of  Netherby  ne'er  did  they  see.  — 

So  daring  in  love,  and  so  dauntless  in  war, 

Have  ye  e'er  heard  of  gallant  like  young  Lochinvar? " 

2.  —  Descriptive  Style. 
[Repulse  of  the  Archers: — Battle  of  Beal  an  Dhuine.] — Scott. 

(Haste,  Fear,  Alarm.  —  "Explosive  orotund:"  "Impassioned" 
force:  "Radical  stress:"  "High  pitch:"  Extremely  short 
pauses.) 

"  Forth  from  the  pass  in  tumult  driven, 
Like  chaff  before  the  winds  of  heaven. 
The  archery  appear ; 


1 72  ORTHOPHONY. 

For  life,  for  life  their  flight  they  ply ; 
While  shriek  and  shout  and  battle  cry, 
And  plaids  and  bonnets  waving  high, 
And  broadswords  flashing  to  the  sky,- 
Are  maddening  in  their  rear." 

3.  —  Bold  Address. 

[The   Gheber  to  his  followers.] — Moore. 

^enrage,  Revenge. — "  Explosive  orotund,  aspirated  quaky:1 
"  Impassioned  "  force  :  "  Radical  stress  :"  "  High  pitch  :"  Varied 
1  slides :"  Short  pauses.) 

"  What !  while  our  arms  can  wield  these  blades 
Shall  we  die  tamely  ?  die  alone  ? 

Without  one  victim  to  our  shades, 
One  Moslem  heart,  where,  buried  deep, 
The  sabre  from  its  toil  may  sleep  ? 
No — God  of  Iran's  burning  skies  ! 
Thou  scorn's  t  the  inglorious  sacrifice. 
No — though  of  all  earth's  hope  bereft, 
Life,  swords,  and  vengeance  still  are  left. — 
We  '11  make  yon  valley's  reeking  caves 

Live  in  the  awe-struck  minds  of  men, 
Till  tyrants  shudder,  when  their  slaves 

Tell  of  the  Ghebers'  bloody  glen. 
Follow,  brave  hearts  ! — this  pile  remains 
Our  refuge  still  from  life  and  chains." 

4. — Playful  and  Humorous  Description^ 

[Carnival  Scenes  in  Venice.] — Byron. 

(Mirth     *id    Exhilaration.  —  "Pure  tone:"   "  Moderate"  force 
"  Racn(*i.    fcirecs:"   "High  pitch:"   "Monotone:"   Extremely 
short  pauses*.) 

"  And  gaiety  on  restless  tiptoe  hovers, 
Giggling  with  all  the  gallants  who  beset  her ; 
And  there  are  songs  and  quavers,  roaring,  humming 
Guitars,  and  every  other  sort  of  strumming. 


11  MOVEMENT.  173 

And  theie  are  dresses,  splendid,  but  fantastical, 
Masks  of  all  times  and  nations,  Turks  and  Jews, 

And  harlequins  and  clowns,  with  feats  gymnastical, 
Greeks,  Komans,  Yankee-doodles,  and  Hindoos." 

5. —  Anger,  Fierce  and  Stubborn  Resolve. 

[rOEIOLANUS,    MADDENED    AGAINST    THE     ROMAN    POPULACE.] Shdkspeart. 

("Aspirated  quality:"  Intensely  "  impassioned  "  force:  "  Exj  o- 
sive  radical  and  vanishing  stress:"  "High  pitch:"  Downward 
11  slide  "  of  "  fifth  "  and  "  octave."     Extremely  short  pauses.) 

"  Let  them  pull  all  about  mine  ears  ;  present  me 
Death  on  the  wheel,  or  at  wild  horses'  heels ; 
Or  pile  ten  hills  on  the  Tarpeian  rock, 
That  the  precipitation  might  down  stretch 
Below  the  beam  of  sight }  yet  will  I  still 
Be  thus  to  them." 

•VI. — "Rapid,  or  Quickest  Movement" 
Lyric  Style. 

[MAZErPA,   BOUND   ON    THE    WILD   HORSE.] BljrOTl. 

(" Aspirated  quality:"  "Impassioned"  force:  "Radical  stress:" 
11  High  pitch :"  Prevalent  "  monotone :"  Extremely  short  pauses.) 

"  Away  ! — away  ! — and  on  we  dash  !- 
Torrents  less  rapid  and  less  rash. 
"  Away,  away,  my  steed  and  I, 

Upon  the  pinions  of  the  wind, 

AH  human  dwellings  left  behind : 
We  sped  like  meteors  through  the  sky, 
When  with  its  crackling  sound  the  night 
Is  chequered  with  the  northern  light :  — 
"  From  out  the  forest  prance 
A  trampling  troop,  —  I  see  them  come  ! 
A  thousand  horse — and  none  to  ride  !  — 
With  flowing  tail,  and  flying  mane, 
Wide  nostrils,  never  stretched  by  pain, 
Mouths  bloodless  to  the  bit  or  rein, 
15* 


174  ORTHOPHONY. 

And  feet  that  iron  never  shod, 
And  flanks  unscarred  by  spur  or  rod, — 
A  thousand  horse, — the  wild,  the  free, — 
Like  waves  that  follow  o'er  the  sea, 

Came  thickly  thundering  on  :  — 
They  stop, —  they  start — they  snuff  the  air, 
Gallop  a  moment  here  and  there, 
Approach,  retire,  wheel  round  and  round, 
Then  plunging  back  with  sudden  bound, — 
They  snort, — they  foam — neigh- — swerve  aside, 
And  backward  to  the  forest  fly, 
By  instinct,  from  a  human  eye." 

ACCENT. 

I. — "  Syllabic  "  Accent. 

The  word  "  accent "  has  been  usually  considered  as  restricted  to 
ihe  designation  of  the  comparative  force  of  syllables,  as  they  occur  in 
the  pronunciation  of  words.  Dr.  Rash,  however,  has,  by  the  accus- 
tomed closeness  and  fidelity  of  his  analysis,  distinctly  shown,  that 
force  is  but  one  constituent,  or  form  of  accent ;  and  that  besides  this 
mere  comparative  loudness,  there  are  two  other  constituents  of 
accent. 

The  modes  of  accent  are  determined  as  follows :  1st,  '*  Im- 
mutable '*  syllables, — those  which  are  constituted  by  fixed 
"  short  quantities," — are  accented  by  "  radical  stress,"  "  im- 
passioned," "  explosive,'  or  "  unimpassioned,"  as  the  case 
may  be,  from  the  character  of  the  utterance  which  marks  the 
passage  or  the  word  in  which  such  a  syllable  occurs.  Thus, 
the  word  "  victory"  although  consisting  of  three  short  sylla- 
bles, has  a  decided  and  distinct  accent  on  its  first  syllable,  by 
means  of  "  radical  stress,"  whether  we  pronounce  the  woid 
with  impassioned  "  expression,"  or  merely  according  to  the 
rule  of  orthoepical  accent. 

2d,  "  Mutable"  syllables,  —  those  which  consist  of  M  varia- 
ble quantities,"  or  such  as  admit  of  comparative  prolongation, 
—  may  be  accented  by  merely  a  louder  sound,  or  greater 
force,  pervading  the  given  syllable,  as  compared  with  the 
others  of  the  same  word.    Thus  die  word  "  adjutant "  having 


ACCENT.  175 

a  suffi  ;ient  prolongation  on  its  first  a,  to  render  the  "  radical 
stress  '  unnecessary,  as  a  distinction,  —  may  have  its  accent 
marked  merely  by  comparative  loudness  of  the  "concrete" 
ad-,  although  in  impassioned  utterance,  it  may  be  marked, 
also,  in  part,  by  "  radical  stress,"  and  a  degree  of  prolonga- 
tion. 3d,  "  Indefinite"  syllables,  or  those  which  are  consti- 
tuted by  prolonged  "  quantity,"  may  be  accented  by  their 
comparative  long  duration. 

The  distinctive  element  of  such  syllables  being  "time,"  Dr.  Hush 
has  designated  them  as  possessing  "  temporal  "  accent.  The  o,  in 
the  word  "  holy"  is  an  instance.  Syllables  of  this  description  may 
of  course  be  executed  with  the  additional  accent  arising  from  "  loud 
concrete  ;"  and,  in  impassioned  utterance,  they  may  be  farther  dis- 
tinguished by  abrupt  "  radical  stress."  But  the  "loud  concrete," 
and  "  temporal  accent,"  cannot  be  exhibited  on  "  immutable  "  sylla- 
bles. 

The  effect  of  all  these  modes  of  accent,  is  to  impart  prominence 
and  impressiveness  of  sound  to  one  syllable  in  most  words,  though, 
in  some,  to  two  syllables. 

A  syllable,  in  orthoepy,  consists,  properly,  of  an  entire 
"  concrete,"  or  the  constituent  radical  and  vanishing  move- 
ment, requisite  to  constitute  a  sound  in  speech,  as  distin- 
guished from  one  in  music.  Instances  may  be  found  in  the 
simple  element  a,  in  at ;  in  the  compound  a,  in  ale ;  in  the 
consecutive  "  tonic"  and  "  subtonic"  a  and  11  in  all ;  in  the 
consecutive  "  tonic  and  subtonics"  of  the  word  old;  or  in  the 
sequence  of  M  aspiration,"  "  tonic  "  "  subtonic,"  and  "  atonic." 
in  the  word  halt. 

Correct  accent  is  indispensable  in  reading  and  speaking,— 
nDt  merely  as  a  convenience  of  intelligible  expression,  and  as 
a  result  of  competent  education,  but  as  an  indication  of  intel- 
ligence and  of  taste,  in  regard  to  language,  and  as  an  element 
of  all  distinct  and  spirited  expression.  The  accented  syllable 
of  every  expressive  word,  becomes  the  seat  of  life  in  utter- 
ance ;  and  there  can  be  no  surer  way  to  render  the  exercise 
of  reading  unmeaning  and  uninteresting,  than  to  indulge  the 
three  prevalent  faults  of  slighting  the  accent  of  words,  unduly 
prolonging  and  forcing  it,  and  distributing  its  effect  over 
several  syllables  of  a  word,  instead  of  confining  it  to  on*1 


176  ORTHOPHONY. 

The  singie  word  "promotion  "  may  suffice  as  an  example  of  these 
faults.  In  the  characteristic  local  accent  of  New  England,  the  fre- 
quent use  of  the  "  wave,"  or  "  circumflex,"  and  of  consequent  pro- 
longation of  sound,  presents  the  word  to  the  ear  in  the  form  of  two 
separate  words,  or  of  systematic  and  formal  syllabication  in  one  ;  thus, 
"pro  motion"  or  "  pro-motion"  The  current  usage  of  the  Middle 
States,  on  the  other  hand,  obscures  the  first  o  of  the  word,  so  as  to 
reduce  it  nearly  to  a  short  u,  and  sinks  the  last  o  entirely.  In  thia 
case,  the  word  is  pronounced  priimoshn. 

Few  exercises  would  prove  more  useful  for  the  purposes  of  educa 
tion,  in  schools,  or  more  serviceable  to  adult  students,  than  the  prac- 
tice of  reading  aloud,  daily,  from  the  columns  of  a  dictionary. 
Woids,  when  contemplated  in  this  detached  state,  make  a  more  dis- 
inct  impression,  both  on  the  eye  and  the  ear,  —  as  far  as  regards 
their  component  elements  of  letters  and  sounds,  than  when  they  aro 
read  in  connexion  in  sentences,  in  which  case  the  attention  is  always 
prone  to  slight  the  sound,  and  dwell  upon  the  sense.  Preparatory 
training,  and  remedial  discipline,  require,  first,  a  thorough  course  of 
enunciation  for  the  definite  and  exact  execution  of  every  sound  and 
syllable,  and,  subsequently,  a  special  series  of  exercises  including 
the  union  of  sound  and  sense,  in  connected  and  consecutive  expres- 
sion. 

The  exercises  which  were  prescribed  under  the  head  of  "  quan- 
tity," are  so  arranged  as  to  admit  of  being  converted  into  a  syste- 
matic course  of  practice  in  accent,  with  a  view  to  trace  the  constitu- 
ent elements  of  syllables,  in  relation  to  accent,  as  always  necessarily 
decided  by  the  distinctions  of*  indefinite,"  "  mutable,"  and  "  immu- 
table." It  is  unnecessary,  therefore,  to  repeat  the  syllabic  exercises 
in  the  pages  of  the  book.  The  teacher  and  the  student  can  accom- 
plish the  object  of  practice,  by  reverting  to  them,  and  repeating  such 
as  best  exemplify  the  different  species  of  accent,  —  "  radical,"  "  con- 
crate,"  and  "  temporal." 

II. — "Rhythmical "  Accent. 

The  subject  of  accent  is  now  to  be  considered  in  connexion 
not  with  single  words,  but  the  sequence  of  phrases,  in  the  titter' 
ance  of  successive  sentences,  and  as  constituting  an  important 
part  of  the  study  of  "  time "  applied  to  the  current  of  the 
voice,  in  the  continuous  exercises  of  speech,  reading,  or  reci- 
tation. 

Tiie  first  or  lowest  degree  of  musical  accent,  is  called 
"  rhythm ;"  the  term,  by  its  derivation,  implying  a  comparison 
between  the  continuous  flow  of  the  voice  in  speech,  and  the 
motion  of  a  stream,  as  contrasted  with  the  still  water  of  a  lake. 
The  voice,  in  the  enunciation  of  a  single  sound  or  word,  is 
comparatively   stationary  •    in   the   utterance   of    successive 


"  rhythm/'  177 

sounds,  it  has  something  like  progressive  motion.  Thia 
motion  may  be  varied  and  irregular ;  or  it  may  be  uniform 
and  measured ;  as  the  stream,  when  flowing  over  an  uneven 
and  rocky  bed,  may  exhibit  all  varieties  of  motion,  but  when 
gliding  a'ong  a  smooth  channel,  may  keep  a  regular  rate  of 
time,  that  may  be  exactly  defined. 

The  "  movement "  of  the  voice  in  conversation,  on  light  or  ordi- 
nary  subjects,  is  variable  and  irregular ;  on  subjects  of  greater 
moment,  it  is  more  even  and  sedate ;  and,  in  the  expression  of  deep 
and  energetic  sentiment,  it  becomes  still  more  regular,  and,  perhaps 
to  a  certain  degree,  measured,  in  its  rate  of  "  movement."  Reading 
is  a  mode  of  voice  yet  more  distinctly  marked  in  "  movement,"  by 
its  partial  uniformity  of  utterance  ;  and  declamation  advances  another 
degree,  still,  in  "  rhythm,"  by  its  deliberate  and  formal  succession  of 
sound.  The  reading  or  recitation  of  poetry,  carries  the  "  move- 
ment "  to  its  highest  degree  of  fixed  and  well  marked  "  rhythm,"  as 
determined  by  the  structure  of  verse,  which  derives  its  pleasing  effect 
to  the  ear  from  the  exact  observance  of  a  continued  uniform,  or  cor 
respondent  "rhythm."  The  word  "metre,"  or  "measure,"  has 
accordingly  its  appropriate  application  to  this  species  of  "  move- 
ment." 

As  M  time "  includes  the  duration  of  pauses  as  well  as  of 
"  quantities,"  and  of  "  movement,"  it  necessarily  comprehends 
under  "  rhythm"  the  exact  proportion  of  pauses  to  sound,  in 
the  rate  of  utterance,  when  regulated  by  "  rhythmical " 
accent.  A  part  of  the  effect  of  "  rhythm "  on  the  ear,  must 
arise,  therefore,  from  the  "time"  of  regularly  recurring  and 
exactly  proportioned  pauses.  The  full  definition  of  "  rhythm  " 
would,  accordingly,  be,  the  effect  of  "  time,"  in  regularly  re- 
turning "  quantity,"  accent,  and  pause,  in  the  successivp 
s  >unds  of  the  voice. 

In  the  usual  forms  of  familiar  prose  writing,  little  regard  is  paid  to 
he  placing  of  words,  as  respects  the  effect  of  accent  Words,  in 
plain,  unpretending  composition,  follow  each  other,  with  but  slight 
reference  to  the  result  in  mere  sound.  Some  writers,  however,  are 
distinguished  by  a  style  which  is  more  or  less  measured  and  rhyth- 
mical to  the  ear.  The  stately  and  formal  style  of  oratorical  declama- 
tion, sometimes  assumes  this  shape,  as  does  also  the  language  of 
sublime,  pathetic,  and  beautiful  description.  Some  writers,  by  high 
excellence  of  natural  or  of  cultivated  ear,  succeed  in  imparting  an 
exquisite  but  unobtrusive  melody  to  their  sentences,  which  forms  one 
01  the  principal  attractions  of  their  style.  We  have  instances  of 
these  various  effects  of  the  selection  and  arrangement  of  words,  in  the 


178  ORTHOPHONY. 

majestic  and  measured  declamation  of  Chatham,  or  in  the  lofty  and 
magnificent  strains  of  Scripture.  The  cadences  of  Ossian  exemplify, 
sometimes,  the  power  and  beauty  of  metrical  arrangement,  and, 
sometimes,  the  cloying  effect  of  its  too  frequent  and  uniform  recur- 
rence. Every  cultivated  ear  is  familiar  with  the  chaste  and  pleasing 
turn  of  the  sentences  of  Addison,  the  easy  flow  o^  Goldsmith's,  the 
ambitious  swell  of  those  of  Johnson,  the  broken  and  capricious 
phrases  of  Sterne,  the  noble  harmony  of  Burke,  the  abruptness  of 
Swift,  and  the  graceful  smoothness  of  Irving. 

The  characteristic  melody  of  each  of  these  authors,  is  owing,  as 
we  find,  on  analysis,  to  more  or  less  attention  paid  to  the  effect  of 
"  rhythmical "  accent :  it  is,  in  fact,  a  species  even  of  "  metre  " 
itself,  or,  at  least,  a  close  approach  to  it.  Examined  in  detail,  it  will 
usually  be  found  to  consist  in  a  skilful  avoiding  of  "  abrupt  ele- 
ments," in  securing  the  coincidence  of  emphasis  with  "mutable" 
and  "  indefinite  quantities,"  but,  more  particularly,  an  exact  timing 
of  the  recurrence  of  accents  at  the  end  of  clauses,  and  in  the  cadence 
of  sentences ;  as  these  places  are  peculiarly  adapted  to  sounds 
intended  for  effect  on  the  ear,  whether  the  design  of  the  writer  is  to 
render  them  prominent  and  striking,  or  subdued  and  quiet.  Such 
results  tell,  with  equal  power,  on  the  hearer,  whether  they  are 
studied  or  unconscious,  on  the  part  of  the  writer  ;  and  they  demand 
equal  attention  on  the  part  of  the  reader. 

"  Rhythm,"  then,  the  lowest  gradation  of  "  metrical  move- 
ment," exists  in  prose  as  well  as  poetry ;  and  good  reading 
preserves  it  distinctly  to  the  ear. 

It  is  a  useful  exercise,  therefore,  to  study  th3  styles  of  different 
authors,  with  reference  to  this  point,  and  to  read  aloud,  from  charac- 
teristic passages,  so  as  to  become  familiar  with  their  peculiarities  of 
"  rhythm,"  and  to  gain  the  power  of  giving  these  a  distinct  and  per- 
ceptible existence  in  the  voice,  without  carrying  the  effect  so  far  that 
sense  is  in  danger  of  being  merged  in  sound,  or  the  thought,  of  being 
lost  in  the  language.  Everything  mechanical,  in  reading,  is  an 
offence  to  sound  judgment  and  true  taste. 

The  following  examples  of  the  notation  of  "  rhythmical"  accent 
will  serve  to  suggest  to  the  student  the  exercise  of  marking  with  a 
pencil  the  "  rhythm,"  in  passages  of  his  own  selection.  The  teacher 
may  prescribe  exercises  of  this  sort  to  his  pupils,  by  the  use  of  the 
black  board.  The  system  of  notation  needs  attention  to  the  follow- 
ing explanatory  statement. 

The  notation  of  "rhythm"  is  founded  on  the  theory  of  Steele, 
that  utterance,  in  speech  and  in  reading,  may,  like  music,  be  divided 
into  legular  portions  by  accent,  and  indicated  by  "bars,"  as  in 
music,  when  written  or  printed;  each  "bar"  commencing  with  an 
accented  syllable,  or  an  equivalent  pause. 

"  Rhythm,"  however,  it  must  be  remembered,  in  the  practice  of 
all  sich  exercises  as  the  following,  is  like  every  other  requisite  of 
elocution,  —  an  aid  and  an  ornament,  within  due  limits  of  effect,  but 
a  deformity  when  rendered  prominent  and  obtrusive.     The  **averrig 


u RHYTHM."  179 

and  unsteady  voi(.-e  of  juvenile  readers,  and  the  unsatisfactory  current 
of  utterance  in  the  style  of  some  professional  speakers,  is  owing  to 
t\p  want  of  a  firmly  marked  "  rhythm,"  —  a  fault  which  necessarily 
produces  to  the  ear  of  the  hearer  a  wandering  uncertainty  of  effect. 
"•Time,"  to  which  "rhythm,"  is  subordinate,  demands  precision 
and  exactness,  when  applied  as  a  measure  of  speech.  Some  readers, 
novvrer,  err  on  the  extreme  of  marking  time  too  prominently,  and 
with  a  jerking  accent,  which  offends  the  ear  by  causing  reading  to 
resemble  a  music  lesson  in  "  accent,"  accompanied  with  a  heavy 
'  beat,"  for  the  sake  of  awakening  the  attention  of  a  learner  whose 
*  organ  of  time  "  is  dull. 

The  style  of  practice  in  the  first  stages,  must,  of  course,  be  char- 
acterized by  full  and  distinct  effect,  even  at  the  hazard  of  seeming 
labored  and  forced,  —  if  the  reader's  ear  is  not  naturally  susceptible, 
and  requires  powerful  impressions.  But  much  practice  should  be 
added,  with  a  view  to  produce  smoothness  and  delicacy  ;  as  the 
painter  does  not  rest  satisfied  with  the  mere  blocking  out  of  light  and 
shadow  in  his  picture,  but  labors  till  he  has  secured  that  exquisite 
finish,  which  is  the  crowning  grace,  in  every  successful  attempt  of 
art ;  and  art  fails  in  its  endeavors,  if  it  does  not  present  nature  in  the 
union  of  beauty  and  truth. 


EXAMPLES    OF    "  RHYTHM." 

1 .  —  Declamatory  Style, 

[From  a  Sermon  of  Robert  Hall.] 

"  It  re-  |  mains  with  |  you  then  |  ^1  '  to  de-  |  cide  |  whether 
that  |  freedom  |  M  at  |  whose  |  voice  |  ^  the  |  kingdoms  of  j 
Europe  |  ^  a-  |  woke  from  the  |  sleep  of  |  ages,  |  *i  to  |  run  a 
ca-  |  reer  }f  |  virtuous  |  2  emu-  |  lation  |  *l  in  |  everything  | 
great  and  |  good  ;  [  M  M  |  M  the '  |  freedom  |  *i  which  dis-  | 
pelled  the  |  mists  of  |  2  super- 1  stition,  |  *i  and  in-  |  vited  the 
|  nations  !  *l  to  be-  |  hold  their  |  God ;  |  ***l|*1  whose  |  magic 
|  touch  ^  |  kindled  the  |  rays  of  |  genius,  |  *i  the  en-  |  thusi- 
usm  of  |  poetry,  |  **i  and  the  |  flame  of  |  eloquence ;  |  *fl  *i  |  *i 
the  |  freedom  j  **i  which  |  poured  into  our  |  lap  ^  |  opulence  j 
*1  and  |  arts,  j  *1**1 1  *l  and  em-  j  bellished  |  life  |  *l  with  in-  j 
numerable  |  2  insti-  |  tutions  |  *i  and  im-  |  provements,  |  *?|*1 
|  *l  till  it  be-  |  came  a  |  theatre  of  |  wonders  ;  |  *i  **!  j  *i  it  is  for 
\  you  |  ^  to  de-  |  cide  ^i  |  **i  whether  |  this  |  freedom  |  *1  shall 
|  yet  sur-  |  vive,  |  ^i  or  |  perish  |  *i  for-  |  ever." 

1  "  Rhythmical "  pause. 

8  A  "secondary"  instead  of  the  usual  '•'primary,"  accent* 


180  ORTHOPHONY. 

2.- — Poetic  expression  in  Prose. 

[Passages  of  Scripture  introduced  in  the  Burial  Service. » 

|  M  I  |  M  am  the  |  l  Resur-  |  rection  |  ^  and  the  |  life,  |  *1* 
|  *i  saith  the  |  Lord ;  |  n  *i  |  he  that  be-  |  lieveth  in  |  mn,  j 
w.  ^i  |  ^  though  he  were  |  dead,  |  ^i  M  |  yet  shail  he  |  *ive :  | 
*i  *i  I  *i  and  |  whose-  |  ever  |  liveth.  j  *!  and  be-  j  lieveth  in  j 
me,  |  *"i  shall  |  never  |  die.  j  *yi  |  ^  ^  | 

*l  I  |  know  |  *i  that  my  Re-  |  deemer  |  liveth,  |  ^  ^  |  and 
that  he  shall  j  stand  |  *l  at  the  |  latter  |  day  j  ^  upon  tne  [ 
earth,  |  ^^1  |  *i  and  though  |  worms  de-  |  stroy  this  |  body,  | 
^^i  |  yet  in  my  |  flesh  |  *i  shall  I  |  see  |  God."  |  *i*i  I  *!*i  | 

3. — Sentiment,  in  Didactic  Style.     [Goldsmith.] 

"  Writers  |  *i  of  |  every  |  age  |  *l  have  en-  |  deavored  to  | 
show  |  ^1  that  |  pleasure  |  ^  is  in  |  us,  |  *i  and  |  not  in  the  | 
objects  |  ^^  |  offered  |  **  for  our  a-  |  musement.  |  ^i^i  |  ^l^i  |  ^1 
If  the  |  soul  be  |  happily  dis-  |  posed,  |  ^^  |  everything  |  *l 
be-  |  comes  |  capable  |  ^  of  af-  |  fording  |  enter-  j  tamment; 
|  *i  *i  |  ^i  and  dis-  |  tress  |  ^  will  almost  |  want  a  |  name.  | 
w]^  |  ^w]  |  Every  oc-  |  currence  |  ^^  |  passes  in  re-  |  view 
|  ^1  like  the  |  figures  |  *1  of  a  pro-  |  cession ;  |  *i  **i  |  some  |  *■* 
may  be  J  awkward,  |  ^  ^  |  others  |  ^i  ill  |  dressed ;  |  *<  but  | 
none  but  a  |  fool  |  ^  is,  for  |  this,  |  ^  en-  |  raged  with  the  | 
master  of  the  |  ceremonies.  |  *i*i  |  ^l^  | 

4.  —  Splendor  and  Pathos. 
[Burke's  Description  of  Marie  Antoinette.] 

"  It  is  |  now,  *1  |  sixteen  or  |  seventeen  |  years  |  ^  since 
|  saw  the  |  Queen  of  |  France,  *1  |  then  the  |  Dauphiness,  |  *i 
at  Ver-  |  sailles :  *1  |  ^M  |  ^  and  |  surely  |  never  |  lighted  ou 
this  |  orb,  **i  |  ^  which  she  |  hardly  |  seemed  to  |  touch,  *<  |  ** 
a  |  more  de-  |  lightful  |  vision.  |  **M  |  "I**!  |  *1 1  |  saw  her  |  just 
a-  |  hove  the  ho-  |  rizon,  |  ^1^1  |  decorating  |  ^  and  |  cheering 
|  <*!  the  |  elevated  |  sphere  |  *1  she  |  just  be-  |  gan  to  |  move 

l  A  u  secondary,' '  instead  of  the  usual  "  primary,"  ascent. 


"  RHYTHM."  181 

in :  |  *1  -M  |  glittering,  |  *l  like  the  |  morning  |  star :  |  <"M 1  full 
of  |  life,  |  *i  and  |  splendor,  |  *i  and  |  joy.  m  |  *i*i  |  <*m  | 

Oh !  |  what  a  |  revo-  |  lution !  |  *M  |  M  and  |  what  a  |  heart 
|  *i  must  I  |  have,  |  *»  to  con-  |  template  |  *1  with-  |  out  e-  | 
motion,  '  **i  *l  |  that  ele-  |  vation  |  ^  and  |  that  |  fall."  *»  |  *l 

5.  —  Oratorical  Declamation.     [Lord  Chatham.] 

"I  |  cannot,  |  ^my  |  Lords,  *i  |  ^1  |  will  not,  |  join  |  ^lin 
con-  |  gratu-  |  lation  |  *ion  mis- 1  fortune  |  ^land  dis-  |  grace. 
|  m*i  |  ^1^1  |  This,  |  ^my  |  lords,  ^  |  ^  is  a  |  perilous  |  ^.and 
tre-  |  mendous  |  moment ;  |  ^  ^i  |  ^  it  is  |  not  a  |  time  for  I 
adu-  |  lation:  |  ^1*1  |  *i  the  |  smoothness  of  |  flattery  |  ^^  | 
cannot  |  save  us  |  ^l  in  this  |  rugged  and  |  awful  |  crisis.  |  H 
*i  I  *i  ^l  |  *n  It  is  |  now  |  necessary  |  ^  to  in-  |  struct  the  | 
throne  |  ~i  in  the  |  language  of  |  truth.  |  ^im  |  ^i^i  |  ^l  We  | 
must,  ^  |  M  if  |  possible,  |  ^  dis-  |  pel  the  de-  |  lusion  and  | 
darkness  |  *1  which  en-  |  velope  it;  |  ^iH  |  *i  and  dis-  |  play, 
*i  |  *l  in  its  |  full  |  danger  |  *i  and  |  genuine  |  colors,  |  *•>  the 
|  ruin  |  H  which  is  |  brought  to  our  |  doors."  |  ^i^i  |  **i*l  | 

6. — Sentiment,  in  Didactic  Style.     [Addison.] 

"  I  |  know  but  |  one  |  way  |  H  of  |  forti-  |  fyingmy  |  soui 
|  *l  a-  |  gainst  |  gloomy  |  presages  and  |  terrors  of  |  mind ;  | 
M  ^i  |  ^l  and  |  that  is,  |  *i  by  se-  |  curing  to  my-  |  self  *i  |  *1 
the  |  friendship  and  pro-  |  tection  |  *J  of  |  that  |  Being  |  H 
who  dis-  |  poses  of  e-  |  vents,  |  *1  and  |  governs  fu-  |  turity. 
]  M  ^i  |  ^  ^l  |  He  ^  |  sees,  ^  |  ^  at  |  one  |  view,  |  ^  the  | 
whole  |  thread  of  my  ex-  |  istence,  |  ^i  *i  |  *i  not  |  only  |  that 
|  part  of  it  j  which  I  have  al-  |  ready  |  passed  |  through,  |  *4 
but  |  that  |  ^  which  runs  |  forward  |  **1  into  |  all  the  |  depths 
|  ^  of  e-  |  ternity.  |  ^^  |  ^l^i  |  ^  When  I  |  lay  me  |  down  to 
|  sleep,  |  ^  I  recom-  |  mend  myself  |  ^  to  |  his  |  care ;  |  *i  ^  | 
*i  when  I  a-  |  wake,  |  ^  I  |  give  myself  |  up  to  |  his  di-  |  rec- 
tion.  |  *1*I  |  ^*i  |  ^  Amidst  |  all  the  |  evils  that  |  threaten  me, 
|  I  will  look  |  up  to  |  him  for  |  help ;  |  m  **i  |  *i  and  |  question 
not  |  **  but  he  will  |  either  a- 1  vert  them,  |  ^  or  |  turn  them  |  t* 
16 


182  ORTHOPHONY. 

my  ad-  |  vantage.  |  ^1*1  |  ^i^i  |  ^i  Though  1  |  know  |  neithei 
the  |  time  nor  the  |  manner  |  *i  of  the  |  death  |  I  am  to  |  die,  | 
*i  I  |  am  not  at  |  all  so-  |  licitous  a-  |  bout  it ;  |  *l  *»  |  ^  be-  | 
cause  I  am  |  sure  |  *i  that  |  he  |  knows  them  |  both,  |  ^**i  |  *1 
and  that  he  |  will  not  |  fail  to  |  comfort  |  *i  and  sup-  |  port 
me  *1 1  under  them."  |  **i  *i  |  *i  *•  | 

7. — Sentiment,  in  Didactic  Style.     [Johnson.] 

"  Kindness  |  *1  is  pre-  |  served  by  a  |  constant  re-  |  Cip- 
ro- [  cation  of  |  benefits  |  ^  or  |  interchange  of  |  pleasures ;  | 
^  ^i  |  ^i  but  |  such  |  benefits  |  only  |  can  be  be-  |  stowed,  |  M 
as  |  others  |  ^  are  |  capable  of  re-  |  ceiving,  |  *i  and  |  such  | 
pleasures  im-  |  parted,  |  *i  as  |  others  j  *i  are  |  qualified  to 
en- |  joy.  |  *i*i  |  ^  | 

^  By  |  this  de-  |  scent  from  the  |  pinnacles  of  |  art  |  ^  no 
(  honor  |  *i  will  be  |  lost ;  |  ^**1  |  *i  for  the  |  conde-  |  scensions 
of  |  learning  |  ^  are  |  always  |  over-  |  paid  |  *i  by  |  gratitude. 
|  m  *!  |  *i  ^i  |  *i  An  |  elevated  |  genius  |  **i  em-  |  ployed  in  | 
little  |  things,  |  *i  ap-  |  pears,  |  ^i  to  |  use  the  |  simile  of  Lon- 1 
ginus,  |  ^  like  the  |  sun  |  **)  in  his  |  evening  |  decli-  |  nation : 
|  **i  *i  |  ^l  he  re-  |  mits  his  |  splendor,  |  *i  but  re-  |  tains  his  ( 
magnitude ;  |  ^  ^  |  ~i  and  |  pleases  |  more,  |  ^  though  he  | 
dazzles  ]  less."  |  ^^  |  ^i^i 

The  difference  of  effect  in  "  rhythmical  accent,''  it  will  be  per- 
ceived, on  closely  examining  the  style  of  the  preceding  passages,  ia 
greatly  dependent  on  the  number  of  syllables  included  within  each 
"  bar,"  and,  not  less,  on  the  pauses,  which  are  also  included  in  the 
"  rhythm,"  and  therefore  enclosed  within  the  bars  ;  since  the  "  time" 
of  the  voice  necessarily  includes  its  rests  and  intermissions,  as  well  as 
its  sounds.  "  Rhythm  "  depends,  farther,  on  the  position  cf  the  ac- 
cented syllable  which  takes  on  the  emphasis  of  a  phrase,  as  well  as 
on  the  different  species  of  accent,  as  "radical,"  "concrete,"  or 
"  temporal."  Compare,  particularly,  the  contents  of  the  "  bars  "  in 
the  last  few  lines  of  the  last  two  examples.  They  will  bo  found  to 
imbody  the  expressive  genius  of  each  author,  and  "  clothe  his 
thought  in  fitting  sound."  The  meek  and  quiet  spirit  of  Addison, 
breathes  in  the  plain,  conversational,  and  comparatively  uniform  style 
of  "  rhythm,"  in  the  close  of  the  paragraph  quoted  from  him  ;  and 
the  noble  soul,  but  mechanical  ear,  of  Johnson,  are  equally  expressed 
in  the  sweeping  "  rhythm  "  of  "  quantity  "  and  pause,  and  measured 
ftiitipkony   in  the  cadence  of  the  last  sentence  extracted  from  the 


"METRE."  183 

Hanibler.  The  limits  of  an  elementary  work  like  the  prestnt,  will  not 
admit  the  details  of  analysis  hy  which  the  peculiar  character  of  each  of 
the  authors  quoted  might  be  verified  by  his  peculiar  "  rhythm."  But 
in  the  statements  already  made  on  "quantity,"  "pause,"  "move- 
ment," "  accent,"  and  "  rhythm,"  the  implements  of  analysis  have 
been  furnished  ;  and  the  exercise  of  applying  them  may  be  left  to  the 
teacher  and  the  student. 


III. — Prosodial  Accent,  or  "Metre." 

The  term  "  metre,"  or  "  measure,"  is  applied,  in  prosody  and  in 
elocution,  to  that  exact  gauge  of  "  rhythm,"  which  is  furnished  in 
the  process  of  prosodial  analysis  termed  "  scanning,"  by  which  a 
"  verse,"  or  line  of  poetry,  is  resolved  into  its  constituent  "  quanti- 
ties "  and  "  accents." 

11  Metre,"  as  a  branch  of  prosody,  comprehends,  in  our  language, 
both  "quantity"  and  "accent."  The  ancient  languages,  and  those 
of  modern  Europe,  generally,  are  less  favorable  than  ours,  to  this 
union.  The  Greek  and  the  Latin  seem  to  have  leaned  chiefly  on 
'*  quantity ;"  and  we  discern  a  similar  tendency,  though  in  an  inferior 
degree,  in  the  European  continental  languages,  —  particularly  those 
of  the  South.  A  language  abounding  in  long  "  quantities  "  of  vari- 
ous sound,  needs  less  aid  from  "  accent,"  whether  for  distinctive 
enunciation  or  expression  of  feeling,  than  one  redundant,  like  the 
English,  in  the  number  and  force  of  its  consonants.  The  racy  energy 
of  English  enunciation,  is  owing  to  the  comparative  force,  spirit,  and 
brilliancy  of  its  accent,  which  strikes  so  instantaneously  on  the  ear, 
with  a  bold  "  radical  movement"  and  absorbing  power,  that  compel 
the  attention  to  the  determining  syllable  of  every  word.  It  bespeaks 
at  once  the  practical  and  energetic  character  of  the  people  with  whom 
it  originated.  — Other  modern  languages  seem  to  distribute  the  accent 
among  all  the  syllables  of  a  word,  and  to  leave  the  ear  doubtful  to 
which  it  is  meant  to  apply,  —  unless  in  the  case  of  long  vowels,  in 
which  they  greatly  excel,  as  regards  the  uses  of  music  and  of  "  ex- 
pressive" speech,  or  impassioned  modes  of  voice. 

In  emphatic  utterance,  however,  the  firm  grasp  which  our  numer- 
ous hard  consonants  allow  to  the  organs,  in  the  act  of  articulation, 
gives  a  peculiar  percussive  force  of  explosion  to  the  vowels  that  fol- 
low them  in  accented  syllables ;  and  the  comparatively  short  duration 
of  our  unaccented  sounds,  causes  those  which  are  accented,  when 
they  possess  long  "quantity,"  to  display  it  with  powerful  effect  in 
the  utterance  of  "  expressive  "  emotion.  Our  poets  sometimes  turn 
this  capability  of  the  language  to  great  account ;  and  none  abounds 
more  in  examples  than  Milton,  whose  ear  seems  to  have  detected  and 
explored  every  element  of  expressive  effect  which  his  native  tongue 
could  furnish. 

Syllables  have  been  classed,  in  prosody,  as  long  or  short,  accented 
cr  unaccented  ;  and  the  prosodial  characters,  "  (long,)  and  "  (short,) 
have  been  used  to  designate  them  to  the  eye.  The  same  marks  have 
been  arbitrarily  used  to  denote  accented  and  unaccented  syllables. 

The  "  rhythm  "  of  verse,  as  measured  by  "  long  "  and  "  short u 


184  ORTHOPHONY. 

or  by  "heavy/'  (accented,)  and  "light,"  (unaccented,)  syllable*, 
has  the  following  metrical  designations  : 

I. — "Iambic  Metre." 

This  form  of  verse  takes  its  name  from  the  circumstance  of  its 
being  constituted  by  the  "  foot,"  or  sequence  of  syllables,  called  an 
"  iambus."  The  words  "  foot "  and  "  feet "  are  arbitrarily  used  in 
prosody,  to  express  a  group  of  syllables  constituting  a  distinct  and 
separable  portion  of  verse.  The  "  iambus  "  is  a  "  foot  "  consisting 
of  two  syllables  :  the  first,  short,  or  unaccented,  or  both;  the  second 
long,  or  accented,  or  both ;  as  in  the  word  repeal. 

"  Iambic"  metre  is  exemplified  in  "  epic  "or  "  heroic  "  poetry, 
whether  in  the  form  of  "  blank  verse,"  —  so  called  from  its  not  fur- 
nishing rhymes,  and  its  consequent  blank  effect  on  the  ear,  as  in  Mil 
ton's  Paradise  Lost,  or  of  rhyming  "  couplets,"  —  so  called  from  the 
lines  rhyming  in  couples,  —  as  in  Pope's  translation  of  Homer.  Each 
line,  in  "blank  verse"  and  the  "heroic  couplet,"  contains  five 
"  iambuses,"  or  ten  syllables,  alternating  from  short  to  long,  or  from 
unaccented  to  accented ;  as  in  the  following  examples. 

"Blank"  Verse. 

4j Advanced  |  in  view,|  they  stand,  |  a  hor-  |  rid  front  | 
Of  dread-  |  ful  length,  |  and  daz-  |  zling  arms,  |  in  guise  | 
Of  war-  |  riors  old,  |  with  or-  |  dered  spear  |  and  shield.  | 

"Heroic  Couplet." 

•4  Like  leaves  |  on  trees  |the*  life  |  of  man  |  is  found  ;  | 

(l  1.)  Now  green  |  in  youth,  |  (l  2.)  now  with-  |  (l  3.)  enng  tfn  | 

the  ground ;  | 
Anoth-  |  er  race  |the  fol-  |  (l  4.)  lowing  spring  |  supplies : 
They  fall  |  succes- 1  (l  5.)  sive,  and  |  succes-  |  sive  rise." 

"Iambic"  verse  is  exemplified,  also,  in  octosyllabic  lines,  in 
rhyming  "  couplets,"  and  in  quatrain,  or  four-line  "  stanzas."  The 
following  are  examples. 

Octosyllabic  Couplet 

"  The  way  |  was  long,  |  the  wind  |  was  cold ;  | 
The  mln-  |  strel  was  |  infirm  |  and  old  :" 

Quatrain  Stanza:    Octosyllabic  Couplets. 

"  The  spa-  |  cious  fir-  |  mament  |  on  high  | 
With  all  I  the  blue  |  ethe-  |  real  sky,  | 

1  Irregular  feet  used  as  substitutes  for  the  "  iambus,"  according  to  tint 
"  license  "  of  versification.     These  feet  are  called,  (1.  and  2.)  the  "  spondee, 
—  two  long  syllables  ;  (3.)  the  "  tribrach,"  three  short  syllables  ;  (4.)  the  "  ana- 
paBst,"  two  short  syllabus,  and  one  long;  (5.)  the  "pyrrhic,"  two  short  sylia 
bl«s. 


*'  METRE."  185 

And  spaA-  |  gled  heavens,  |  a  shin-  |  ing  frame,  [ 
Their  great  |  Orig-  |  Inal  |  proclaim."  | 

Quatrain  Stanza :    Octosyllabic  Lines,  rhyming  alternately* 

"  The  heavens  |  declare  |  thy  glo-  |  ry,  Lord,  | 
In  ev-  |  ery  star  |  thy  wis-  |  dom  shines ;  | 

But  when  |  our  eyes  |  behold  |  thy  word,  | 
We  read  |  thy  name  |  In  fair-  |  er  lines."  | 

■  Common  Metre"  Stanza:  Alternate  Lines  of  Eight  and  Six 

Syllables. 

"  Thy  love  |  the  power  |  of  thought  |  bestowed;  | 
To  Thee  |  my  thoughts  |  would  soar :  | 

Thy  mer-  |  cy  o'er  |  my  life  |  has  flowed  ;  | 
That  mer-  |  cy  I  |  adore."  j 

"Short  Metre"  Stanza:  Two  Lines  of  Six,  one  of  Eight,  and  ont 

of  Six  Syllables. 


"  To  ev-  |  er  fra-  |  grant  meads,  | 
Where  rich  |  ahun-  |  dance  grows,  | 
is  gra-  |  cious  hand  |  indul-  |  gent  leads,  | 
And  guards  |  my  sweet  |  repose." 


His 


"Iambic"  verse  occurs,  likewise,  in  the  form  of  the  "elegiac" 
stanza,  —  so  called  from  the  circumstance  of  its  having  been  employed 
for  the  purposes  of  elegy. 

Elegiac  Stanza  :  Lines  of  Ten  Syllables,  rhyming  alternately. 

"  Full  man-  |  y  a.  gem,  |  of  pur-  |  est  ray  |  serene,  | 
The  dark,  |  unfath-  |  omed  caves  |  of  6-  |  cean  bear.  | 

Full  man-  |  y  a  flower  |  is  born  |  to  blush  |  unseen,  | 
And  waste  |  its  sweet-  |  ness  on  |  the  des-  |  ert  air."  I 

Another  form  of  the  "iambic"  verse,  of  frequent  occurrence  in 
reading,  is  that  of  the  "  Spenserian"  stanza,  —  so  called  from  the 
poet  Spenser,  who  was  the  first  to  use  it,  in  a  continuous  poem  o 
considerable  length. 

1  Spenserian"  Stanza:  Eight  Lines  of  Ten  Syllables  and  ens  of 
Twelve:  the  Rhymes  occurring  as  follows:  on  the  1st  and  3d,  —  on 
the  2d,  4/A,  5/ h,  and  1th,  —  and  on  the  6th,  8th,  and  lJth. 

"  Where'er  |  we  tread,  |  'tis  haunt-  |  ed  ho-  |  ly  ground:  | 
No  earth  |  of  thine  |  Is  lost  |  in  vul-  |  gar  mould  !  | 

Biit  one  |  vast  realm  |  of  won-  |  der  spreads  |  around  ;  | 
And  all  |  the  Mus-  |  es'  tales  |  seem  tru-  |  ly  told,  I 
Till  the  |  sense  aches  |  with  gaz-  |  ing,  to  j  behold  j 
16* 


186 


ORTHOPHONY. 


The  scenes  |  our  ear-  |  lfest  dreams  |  have  dwelt  |  upon.  | 

Kach  lull  |  and  dale,  |  each  deep-  |  enlng  glen  |  and  wold,  | 
Defies  |  dig  power  |  which  crushed  |  thf  tern-  |  pies  gone:  | 
Age  shakes  |  A  the-  |  na's  tower,  |  but  sparer  |  gray  Mar-  |  athon. 

There  are  many  other  forms  of  "  iambic  "  verse  ;  but  they  occui 
less  frequently ;  and  most  of  them  can  be  easily  analyzed  after  scan- 
ning the  preceding  specimens.  1 

II.  —  "Trochaic"  Metre. 

This  species  of  verse  derives  its  name  from  its  predominating  foot 
(lie  "  trochee,"  which  consists,  as  mentioned  before,  of  a  long  sylla- 
ole  followed  by  a  short,  as  in  the  word  fatal. 

" Trochaic  "  verse  is  exemplified  in  the  following  lines  from  Diy- 
den's  Ode  for  St.  Cecilia's  Day. 

"  Softly  |  sweet,  in  |  Lydian  |  measures, 
Soon  he  |  soothed  his  |  soul  to  |  pleasures.  —  | 
War,  he  |  sung,  Is  |  toil  and  |  trouble, 
Honor,  |  but  an  |  empty  j  bubble." 

This  species  of  verse  is  seldom  used  in  long  or  continuous  poems 
but  principally  in  occasional  passages,  for  variety  of  effect.  It  is 
found  usually  in  octosyllabic  lines  of  rhyming  "  couplets,"  as  above. 

III. — A napcestic  Metre. 

This  form  of  verse  takes  its  name  from  its  prevalent  foot,  the 
"  anapaest,"  consisting  of  two  short  syllables  followed  by  one  long,  as 
in  the  word  intervene. 

"  Anapaestic  "  verse  is  found  usually  in  the  two  following  forms  : 

1. 

Stanza  of  Four  or  Eight  Lines  of  Tlirce  "  anapasts,"  or  equivalent 


s  of  1 

feet. 


"  How  fleet 2  |  is  a  glance  |  of  the  mind  ! 

Compared  |  with  the  speed  |  of  its  flight,  | 
The  temp-  |  est  itself)  lags  behind,  | 

And  the  swift  |  winged  ar-  |  rows  of  light." 

2. 

Stanza  of  Four  Lines  of  Four  "  anapaests"  or  equivalent  feet. 

"  The  even-  5|  ing  was  glo-  |  rious ;  and  light  |  through  the  trees  | 
Played  the  sun-  |  shine  and  rain- 1  drops,  the  birds  |  and  the  breeze;  J 
The  land-  |  scape,  outstretch-  |  Inn;  fn  love-  |  li'ness,  lay  | 
On  the  lap  |  of  the  year,  |  In  the  beau-  |  ty  of  May."  | 

1  For  farther  examples,  and  a  more  extended  statement,  regarding  thfl 
"reading  of  poetry,"  see  "  American  Elocutionist." 
*  An  "  iambus  "  sometimes  occurs  as  the  first  foot  in  an  "  anapaestic"  line 


M  METRE."  187 

IV.  —Rhythmical  and  Prosodial  Accent  combined. 

The  preceding  examples  of  verse  have  all,  it  mny  now  be  per- 
ceived, been  marked  with  the  characters  used  in  prosody  Hut,  fin 
the  purposes  of  elocution,  it  is  important  to  the  control  of  the  voice, 
in  the  reading  of  verse,  that  the  student  should  accustom  himself  to 
the  practice  of  marking  the  accentuation  of  verse  to  the  ear,  —  a  pro- 
cess in  which  the  actual  "  rhythm  "  of  the  voice  is  decided,  as  in 
prose,  by  the  position  of  accent.  The  mere  prosodial  "quantities  " 
must,  in  elocution,  be  regarded  as  but  subordinate  and  tributary 
means  of  effect  to  "  rhythmical  accent,"  and  as  contributing  to  secure 
its  perfect  ascendency. 

Metre,  then,  in  reading,  is  to  be  considered  as  but  precision  of 
"  rhythm  "  by  which  utterance  is  brought  more  perceptibly  under  the 
control  of  "  time,"  than  in  prose.  Verse,  accordingly,  is  scored  for 
accent,  exactly  as  prose  is.  Here,  also,  the  student  may  be  reminded 
that,  in  practising  on  metre,  whilst,  for  the  sake  of  distinct  impres- 
sion, he  indulges  its  effect  to  the  full  extent,  at  first,  he  must  accus- 
tom himself  to  reduce  it  gradually  within  those  limits  which  shall 
render  it  chaste  and  delicate.  The  peculiar  effects  of  "  measure  "  in 
music,  do  not  exceed  those  of  metre,  in  good  reading  and  recitation ; 
and  they  are  indispensable  in  the  reading  of  all  forms  of  verse,  but, 
particularly,  in  lyric  strains.  In  these,  —  as  even  a  slight  attention 
will  suffice  to  prove,  —  the  poet  often  changes  the  mood  of  his  metre 
along  with  that  of  his  theme.  The  Ode  on  the  Passions,  and  all  sim- 
ilar pieces,  require  numerous  changes  of  "rhythm"  and  prosodial 
effect,  as  the  descriptive  or  expressive  strain  shifts  from  passion  to 
passion,  —  and  from  measure  to  measure.  —  It  is  by  no  means  desira- 
ble, however,  that  the  metre  should  be  marked  in  that  overdone  style 
of  chanting  excess,  which  offends  the  ear,  by  obtruding  the  syllabic 
structure  of  the  verse,  and  forcing  upon  our  notice  the  machinery  of 
prosodial  effect. 

The  subjoined  example  may  serve  to  suggest,  to  the  teacher  and 
the  student,  the  mode  of  marking  on  the  black  board,  or  with  a  pen- 
cil, similar  exercises  selected  from  the  pages  of  this  volume,  or  any 
other,  at  choice. 

It  was  deemed  preferable  to  use,  for  our  present  purpose,  the  same 
examples  which  have  been  analyzed  for  the  study  of  the  prosodial 
structure  of  verse,  so  as  to  show,  as  impressively  as  possible,  the  dif- 
ference between  the  literal  accent  of  the  mere  mechanism  of  verse  as 
such,  and  the  free,  varied,  and  noble  "  rhythm,"  which  it  acquires 
when,  in  reading  and  recitation,  the  object  in  view  is  to  render  verse 
tributary  to  meaning  and  sentiment,  or  to  vivid  emotion.  The  servile 
style  of  reading  verse  which  follows  its  sound  rather  than  its  sense,  is 
no  worse  fault  than  a  literal  practising  of  prosody,  a  fair  and  honest 
but  most  gratuitous  scanning,  of  the  lines,  rather  than  the  reading  of 
them.  The  strict  metrical  marking,  however,  and  due  practice  on  it, 
may  be  very  useful  to  those  students  whose  habit,  in  reading,  is  ti 
turn  verse  into  prose,  through  want  of  ear  for  metre 


188  ORTHOPHONY. 

NOTATION   OF    RHYTHMICAL   AND    PROSODIAL   ACCENT   COMBINE  A 

I.— "Iambic"  Metre. 

"Blank"  Verse. 

*1  "Ad- 1  vanced  in  |  view,  |  *ll  they  J  stand,  |  *1  la  |  horrid  |  front  *1 
*1  Of  |  dreadful  |  length,  j  l  *1  and  dazzling  |  arms,  |  *1  l  in  |  guise  | 
*1  Of  |  warriors  |  old  |  *1  3  with  |  ordered  |  spear   and  |  shield."  |  ** 
*1  |  *1*1 1 

"Heroic  Couplet." 

■H  M  Like  |  leaves  on  |  trees.|  *i  the  |  life  of  |  man  |  M  is  |  found :  |  *1*1 
|  Now  *1  |  green  |  *1  in  |  youth,  |  *1  *1  |  now  *1  |  withering  |  *1  on 

the  |  ground ;  |  *1  *1  | 
*1  An-  |  other  |  race  |  *1  the  |  following  |  spring  |  *1  sup- 1  plies :  |  *1  *1| 
**.They  |  fall  sue-  |  cessive,  |  ^1  and  sue-  |  cessive  |  rise."  |  *1  M  | 

*i*l  | 

"Octosyllabic  Couplet." 
~\ "  The  |  way  |  *1  was  |  long,  |  *J*1  |  *J  the  |  wind  |  *1  was  |  cold ; 

*lThe  |  minstrel  |  *1  was  in-  |  firm  |  *1  and  old."  |  *1*1  |  *1*1 1 

"Quatrain"  Stanza:  "Octosyllabic  Couplets." 

vj "  The  |  spacious  |  firmament  |  M  on  high,  |  *1  *1  | 

•1  With  |  all  the  |  blue  e-  |  thereal  |  sky,  |  *1*i  | 

M  And  |  spangled  |  heavens,  |  ^1  a  |  shining  |  frame,  |  *1*1 

*i  Their  |  great  0-  |  riginal  |  *1  pro-  |  claim."  |  *1*1  |  *1*1  | 

Quatrain  Stanza :  Octosyllabic  Lines,  rhyming  alternately. 

*1«  The  |  heavens  |  ^  de-  |  clare  |-  ^  thy  |  glory,  |  Lord,  |  *1M  | 
**»  In  |  evexv  |  star  |  *i  thy  |  wisdom  |  shines ;  |  *1  *1  | 

*4  But  |  *1  wnen  our  |  eyes  be-  |  hold  thy  |  word,  1*1*11 
^1  We  |  read  thy  |  name  |  *1  in  |  fairer  |  lines."  |  *»i*1 1  *1** 

1  "  Demi-ccesural "  pause.  2  "  Final  "  pause.  3  "  Caesural "  pause.  —  The 
pauses  marked  with  the  figure  1,  &c,  are  founded  primarily  and  necessarily 
on  the  sense;  but  the  prosodial  pauses,  indispensable  to  the  "rhythm"  of 
every  well-constructed  verse,  happen,  in  the  present  instance,  to  coincide  with 
the  pauses  of  the  meaning.  Every  Jine  of  verse  has  a  "  final  pause,"  which 
detaches  it  from  the  following  line,  and  a  "  cresural "  pause,  which  divides  it 
into  two  parts,  equal  or  unequal,  or  two  "demi-caesural"  pauses,  which 
divide  it  into  three  parts.  The  "  demi-ccesural  "  pauses  are  sometimes  u.«id 
in  addition  to  the  "  ccesural,"  to  subdivide  the  two  parts  which  it  separate*. 


CJ  RHYTHM "    AND    "METRE."  189 

"Common  Metre"  Stanza. 

( "  Thy  |  love  |  M  the  |  power  of  |  thought  |  M  be-  |  stowed ;  |  MM  | 
MTo  |  Thee  |  M  my  |  thoughts  |  M  would  |  soar :  MM  | 

M  Thy  |  mercy  |  M  o'er  my  |  life  |  M  has  |  flowed ;  |  M  M 1 
MThat  |  mercy  |  M  I  a-  |  dore."  |  MM  |  MM  | 

"Short  Metre"  Stanza. 

M"  To  |  ever  |  fragrant  |  meads,  |  MM  | 
H  Where  |  rich  a-  |  bundance  |  grows,  |  MM  | 
M  His  |  gracious  |  hand  |  M  in-  |  dulgent  |  leads,  |  M  M  | 
M  And  |  guards  my  |  sweet  re-  |  pose."  |  MM  J  MM| 

Elegiac  Stanza. 

M  "  Full  |  many  a  |  gem,  |  M  of  |  purest  |  ray  j  Mse-  |  rene,  |  MM  j 
M  The  |  dark  |  M  un-  |  fathomed  |  caves  of  |  ocean  |  M  M  |  bear : 
| MM | mm | 

M  Full  |  many  a  |  flower  |  M  is  |  born  to  |  blush  un-  |  seen,  |  m  m  | 
M  And  |  waste  |  Mits  |  sweetness  |  Mon  the  |  desert  |  air."  |  M** 

"Spenserian"  Stanza. 

M  "  Wher-  |  e'er  we  |  tread,  |  M  'tis  |  haunted,  |  MM  |  holy  M  j 
ground :  |  M  M  |  M  M  | 
|  No  |  earth  |  M  of  |  thine  |  M  M  |  M  is  |  lost  |  M  in  |  vulgar   | 
mould !  |  m  M  | 
M  But  |  one  |  vast  |  realm  |  M  of  |  wonder  |    M  M   |  spreads    a-   | 
round  ;  |  M  M | 
M  And  |  all  the  |  Muse's  |  tales  |  M  seem  |  truly  |  told,  |  MM  | 
Till  the  |  sense  |  aches  with  |  gazing  |  M  to  be-  |  hold  | 
M  The  |  scenes  |  M  our  |  earliest  |  dreams  |  M  have  |  dwelt   upon, 
|  MM | mm | 
|  Each  |  hill  |  M  and  |  dale,  |  MM  |  M  each  |  deepening  |  glen  |  M 
and  |  wold,  |  MM  | 
^  De-  |  Acs  the  |  power  |  M  which  |  crushed  thy  |  temples  |  gone : 

|  M^i  |  MM 
|  Age  |  shakes  A-  |  thena's  |  tower,  |  Mbut  |  spares  |  M  gray  |  Mar« 
,    athon."  |  MM  |  mm  | 

II.—"  Trochaic  "  Metre. 

"  Softly  |  sweet,  |  m  in  |  Lydian  |  measures,  J  MM  | 

Soon  |  M  he  |  soothed  his  |  soul  |  M  to  |  pleasures.  —  |  M  M  | 


190  ORTHOPHONY. 

War  |  *l  he  |  sung  |  H  is  |  toil  |  **  and  |  trouble   |  ^*!  ( 
Honor,  |  *1  but  an  |  empty  |  bubble."  |  *»*i  |  *t*1 1 

III. — "Anapcsstic"  Metre. 

1.  Lines  of  Three  "Anapasis." 

H  "  How  |  fleet  |  *1  is  a  |  glance  of  tbe  |  mind  !  |  *!*1 1  **l*1 1 
*1  Com-  |  pared  with  the  |  speed  of  its  |  flight,  |  ^i^i  | 

^1  The  |  tempest  |  ^  it-  |  self  j  ^i^l  |  lags  be-  |  hind,  |  *1  ^1 1 
^  And  the  |  swift- winged  |  arrows  of  |  light.' ■  |  *l*i  |  *l^1 1 

2.  Lines  of  Four u Anapaests." 

*l "  The  |  evening  |  **  was  |  glorious ;  |  *1  and  |  light  |  **l  through  the 

|  trees  |  *l^l  | 
H  Played  the  |  sunshine  |  *1  and  |  raindrops,  |  *l  the  birds  |  *1  and  the 

|  breeze ;  |  **l  *1 1  ^  M  | 
*1  The  |  landscape  |  ^J  out-  |  stretching  |  *1  in  |  loveliness,  |  lay  |  ** 

*l 

*i  On  the  |  lap  |  ^1  of  the  |  year,  |  *l  in  the  |  beauty  |  *1  of  |  May."  | 

*l*J  I  ^1^1  I 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

EMPHASIS  AND  "EXPRESSION." 

The  analysis  of  elocution  has,  in  the  preceding  chapters,  been  ex- 
truded so  far  as  to  comprehend  all  the  chief  topics  of  practical  elocu 
tion.  The  subjects  of  emphasis  and  "  expression,"  have  been  reserved 
for  the  conclusion  of  this  manual,  as  they  properly  comprise  a  virtual 
review  of  the  whole  subject. 

I.  — Impassioned  Emphasis. 

Emphasis,  in  its  usual  acceptation,  is  limited  to  mere  com- 
parative force  of  utterance  on  an  accented  syllable.  The 
term,  properly  denned,  extends  to  whatever  expedient  the 
voice  uses  to  render  a  sound  specially  significant  or  expres- 
sive. Thus,  in  the  scornful  challenge  which  Bolingbroke 
addresses  to  Mowbray. 

liPale,  trembling  coward  !  there  I  throw  my  gage  :"  — 

The  emphasis  lies,  doubtless,  on  the  word  coward*  and  ii 


EMPHASIS   AND     hi  EXPRESSION.7'  191 

concentrated  in  the  syllable  cow-,  by  peculiar  force  of  utter- 
ance. But  the  mere  force  or  loudness  used,  is  only  one  of 
the  many  elements  of  expression,  which  the  syllable  is  made 
to  comprise,  in  the  intensely  excited  passion  implied  in  the 
words. 

Attentive  analysis  will  show  that,  in  what  is  termed  "  emphasis," 
in  this  instance,  there  are  included  all  of  the  following  elements  of 
vocal  effect :  1st,  the  mere  force  or  energy  of  the  utterance,  which 
produces  the  loudness  of  voice,  that  accompanies  violent  or  vehement 
excitement  of  feeling  ;  2d,  the  abrupt  and  explosive  articulation  with 
which  the  accented  syllable  is  shot  from  the  mouth,  in  the  expres- 
sion of  anger  and  scorn ;  3d,  the  comparatively  low  pitch  on  which 
the  syllable  cow-  is  uttered,  as  contrasted  with  the  high  note  on  the 
opening  word  "pale"  and  which  indicates  the  deep-seated  contempt 
and  indignation  of  the  speaker;  4th,  the  comparatively  long  duration 
of  the  accented  syllable,  and  the  consequent  effect  of  deliberate  and 
voluntary  emotion,  as  contrasted  with  the  rapid  rate  of  hasty  and  rash 
excitement;  5th,  the  downward1''  slide ,"  the  inseparable  character- 
istic of  all  impetuous,  violent,  and  angry  emotion  ;  6th,  the  "pecto- 
ral," "guttural,"  and  strongly  "aspirated  quality"  of  voice,  with 
which  the  utterance  seems  to  burst  from  the  chest  and  throat,  with  a 
half  suffocated  and  hissing  sound,  peculiarly  characteristic  of  fierce 
and  contemptuous  emotion. 

It  may  appear,  at  first  view,  that  this  analysis  extends  beyond  em- 
phasis into  "  expression."  But  emphasis  is,  in  fact,  nothing  else 
than  "  expression,"  concentrated  and  condensed  into  an  accented  syl- 
lable. For  confirmation  of  this  assertion  we  may  refer  to  the  result, 
in  cases  of  acknowledged  imperfect  emphasis,  that  a  failure,  as 
regards  the  full  effect  of  any  one  of  the  above  elements,  produces  the 
fault.  Let.  the  student  himself  bring  the  matter  to  the  test  of  his  own 
observation,  by  uttering  the  word  "  coward,"  six  times  in  succession, 
dropping,  each  time,  one  of  the  elements  of  "  expression,"  enumer- 
ated in  the  preceding  analysis ;  and  he  will  perceive  that  lie  loses,  in 
every  instance,  the  emphasis  of  impassioned  accent.  —  Similar  illus- 
trations might  be  drawn  from  all  emotions,  in  turn.  But  the  verifi- 
cation may  be  left  for  the  practice  of  oral  illustration,  by  the  student, 
cr  the  teacher. 

II. — Unimpassioned  Emphasis. 

It  may  be  thought,  however,  that,  although  the  emphasis 
of  passion  does  include  many  elements,  the  common  emphasis 
of  meaning,  in  unimpassioned  intellectual  communication, 
may  be  sufficiently  expressed  by  mere  comparative  force  of 
accent.  This  impression,  too,  will,  on  examination,  be  found 
erroneous.     The  simplest  distinctive  emphasis  that  can  bo 


1 92  ORTHOPHONY. 

given,  comprises  several  points  ol  effect,  which  are  easily 
detected  by  analysis. 

We  may  take,  for  an  example  of  unimpassioned  emphasis,  the  ex- 
pressions in  the  moral  of  the  fable  of  the  Discontented  Pendulum, 
"  Let  any  man  resolve  always  to  do  right  now,  leaving  then  to  do  as 
it  can ;  and  if  he  were  to  live  to  the  age  of  Methuselah,  he  would 
never  do  wrong." 

The  words  "  now  "  and  "  then"  in  this  passage ,  are  instances  of 
distinctive  emphasis  :  they  are  marked,  1st,  by  the  usual  superior  force 
of  utterance,  which  belongs  to  important  and  significant  words;  2d, 
by  a  jerking  stress,  repeated  at  the  beginning  and  end  of  each 
"  tonic  "  element  of  sound  in  the  two  words,  and  constituting  what, 
in  elocution,  is  technically  termed  "compound  stress;"  3d,  by  the 
comparatively  high  pitch  on  which  each  of  these  two  word?  is  set, 
relatively  to  the  rest  of  the  sentence ;  4th,  by  a  significant  turn  or 
"  double  slide  "  of  voice,  termed  the  "  wave,"  or,  perhaps,  —  in  the 
spirit  of  very  keen  and  peculiarly  marked  distinction,  —  by  a  double 
turn,  constituting  a  quadruple  "  slide  "  and  a  "  double  wave,"  in  the 
style  peculiar  to  the  prolonged  utterance  of  acute  verbal  distinctions ; 
5th,  by  the  protracted  sound  of  the  words,  which  is  inseparable  from 
the  enunciation  of  significant  expressions,  in  general,  but  particularly, 
as  just  mentioned,  from  the  style  of  verbal  distinctions  and  subtle  dis- 
criminations;  6th,  by  the  "  oral  quality"  of  voice,  with  which  the 
words  are  uttered.  —  By  "  oral  quality  "  is  not  meant  that  "  pure  " 
or  "  head  tone,"  which  always  accompanies  unimpassioned  and 
merely  intellectual  communication,  —  an  utterance  addressed  to  the 
understanding,  and  not  to  the  passions,  and  hence  divested  of  deep 
"pectoral"  or  harsh  "guttural"  quality,  —  but  that  distinctly 
marked  and  exclusively  oral  tone,  which  causes  the  voice  to  sound  as 
if  it  emanated  from,  or  originated  in,  the  mouth  alone,  and  design- 
edly threw  the  utterance  into  the  shape  of  a  mere  process  of  articula- 
tion, dependent,  for  its  whole  effect,  on  the  tongue,  the  palate,  the 
teeth  or  the  lips.  All  nice  distinctions  in  grammar,  in  logic,  and 
even  in  ethics,  are  given  in  this  purely  "  oral  "  form.  This  mode  of 
voice,  is,  as  it  were,  the  opposite  pole  to  that  of  deep  passioi,  which 
is  not  merely  low-pitched,  but  designedly  resounds  in  the  thoracic 
cavity,  and  by  its  hollow  "  pectoral "  effect,  seems  to  emanate  from 
the  chest.  It  indicates,  thus,  to  the  ear  the  presence,  as  the  "  oral 
quality  "  does  the  absence,  of  a  deep  inward  movement  of  feeling. — 
The  effect  of  the  "  oral  quality,"  as  a  part  of  the  emphasis  of  intel- 
lectual distinctions,  may  be  ascertained  by  the  student  for  himself,  if 
he  will  utter  the  words  "  now  "  and  "  then  "  in  the  preceding  pas- 
sage, first,  with  "low  pitch,"  and  deep  "pectoral"  murmur,  and, 
afterwards,  with  "  high  pitch,"  and  thin  "  oral  "  enunciation.  A 
similar  analysis  may  be  made  on  all  the  constituent  elements  of 
unimpassioned  emphasis,  as  enumerated  in  this  paragraph. 

The  reason  why,  in  our  analysis  of  elocution,  the  consideration  of 
emphasis  was  postponed  to  other  topics,  will  now  be  distinctly  per- 
ceived. The  appropriate  study  of  emphasis,  requires  a  knowledge 
of  it»  various  constituents.     But  the  previous  discussion  and  exempli- 


EMPHASIS    AND    "  EXPRESSION."  193 

ficatioiv  of  these,  renders  the  separate  practice  of  each,  under  tho 
denomination  of  emphasis,  unnecessary.  It  will  be  sufficient,  here, 
to  present  a  few  examples  of  emphasis,  for  practical  analysis,  classi- 
fied in  such  a  manner  as  to  suggest  to  the  student  and  the  teacher 
the  modes  of  practice  best  adapted  to  produce  a  distinct,  impressive, 
and  discriminating  emphasis. 

It  will  give  additional  value  to  all  exercises  in  emphasis,  if  the 
examples  are  thoroughly  analyzed,  so  as  to  exhibit  all  the  properties 
of  elocution  comprised  in  each.  It  becomes  necessary,  once  more,  to 
drop,  here,  a  suggestion  on  the  effect  of  practice,  —  that,  in  the  first 
course  of  exercise,  the  full  force  of  emphasis,  in  all  its  characteristics, 
is  the  object  to  be  kept  in  view,  so  as  to  gain  the  power  of  throwing 
out  the  utmost  expressive  force,  when  impassioned  utterance  requires 
it;  but  that  a  subsequent  course  should  be  carefully  added,  so  as  to 
bring  down  and  soften  the  emphasis  of  unimpassioned  language  into 
a  quiet  and  moderate  style  of  expression,  marked  by  chaste  and 
manly  reserve. — Our  current  style  of  professional  reading  is  justly 
complained  of  by  foreigners,  as  being  mechanical  and  studied  in  its 
emphasis ;  and  our  popular  oratory,  as  characterized  by  violence 
rather  than  genuine  force.  Earnestness,  it  is  true,  is  the  soul  of  elo- 
quence ;  but  it  rarely  authorizes  vehemence,  and  never  vociferation, 
—  a  habit  which,  for  the  time,  degrades  man  from  his  rational  eleva- 
tion of  humanity  to  the  level  of  animal  life.  Emotion,  the  true  source 
of  impassioned  emphasis,  may  be,  in  the  highest  degree,  vivid,  with- 
out being  turbulent. 


EXAMPLES    OF    EMPHASIS. 

I.  — Impassioned  Emphasis. 
Fierce  Anger  and  Defiance. 

[CORIOLANUS,  ENRAGED    BY  THE   ACCUSATION   OF  THE    TRIBUNES.] Skaks- 

2)eare. 

(f<  Aspirated  guttural  quality:"  "Impassioned"  and  increasing 
"  expulsive  "  force  :  "  Compound  and  thorough  stress  :"  "  High  " 
and  progressively  rising  "  pitch  :"  Downward  "  third,"  "  fifth," 
and  "  octave  "  in  the  "  slide  :"  "  Emphatically  slow  movement.") 

"  Call  me  their  traitor ! — Thou  injurious  tribune  ] 
Within  thine  eyes  sat  twenty  thousand  deaths. 
In  thine  hands  clutched  as  many  bullions,  in 
Thy  lying  tongue  BOTH  numbers,  I  would  say, 
Thou  LIE  ST,  unto  thee,  with  a  voice  as  free 
A.s  I  do  pray  the  gods." 
i? 


194  ORTHOPHONY. 

Revenge. 
[Othello,  instigated  by  Iago,  against  Cassio.] — Shakspcart. 

("Aspirated  pectoral  quality  :"  Intensely  "  impassioned"  "Expul- 
sive "  force:  "Thorough  stress:"  "Low  pitch:"  Downward 
"slide,"  of  the  "fifth"  and  "third:"  Emphatically  deliberate 
and  slow  "  movement.") 

«  Oh !  that  the  slave  had  FORTY  THOUSAND  lives  ■ 
My  great  revenge  had  stomach  for  them  all  ! " 

Anger  and  Threatening. 

[CORIOLANUS,    TO    THE    ROMAN   SOLDIERS   WHEN    REPULSED.] — ShaJc$peare 

("Aspirated  guttural  quality:"  "Impassioned"  force:  "Vanish 
ing,"  "  radical,"  and  "  median  stress  :"  "  High  pitch  :"  "  Down- 
ward "  "slide"  of  the  fifth:  "Movement"  first  "slow,"  thee 
"quick." 

"  You  souls  of  geese, 
That  bear  the  shapes  of  men,  how  have  you  run 
From  slaves  that  apes  would  beat! — Pluto  and  hell! 
All  hurt  behind;  backs  red,  and  faces  pale 
With  flight  and  aguedfear! —  Mend,  and  charge  home 
Or  by  the  fires  of  heaven,  I  '11  leave  the  foe, 
And  make  my  wars  on  YOU  :  look  to  H :  Come  on  !" 

Defiance. 
[Edmund,  in  Reply  to  Albany.] — Shalspeare. 
("  Orotund  quality  :"  "  Impassioned  "  force  :  "  Thorough  stress  :' 
"  Middle  pitch  :"  Downward  "  fifths  :"  Deliberate  "  movement.'") 

"  What  in  the  world  he  is, 
That  names  me  traitor,  villain-like  he  lies  : 
Call  by  thy  trumpet :  he  that  dares  approach, 
On  him,  on  you,— WHO  NOT?— I  will  maintain 
My  truth  and  honor  firmly  " 

II.  —  TJnim passioned  Emphasis. 
Emphasis  of  Designation. 
[Description  of  a  Bookseller's  Literary  Dinner.]—  Irving. 
"The  host  seemed  to  have  adopted  Addison's  idea  as  to 


195 

i he  literary  precedence  of  his  guests.  —  A  popular  l  poet  had" 
the  post  of  honor  ;  opposite  to  whom  was  a  hot-pressed  travel' 
ler  in  quarto,  with  plates.  A  grace-looking  antiquary,  who 
had  produced  several  solid  works,  that  were  much  quoted  and 
little  read,  was  treated  with  great  respect,  and  seated  next  to  a 
neat,  dressy  gentleman  in  black,  who  had  written  a  thin,  gen- 
teel, hot-pressed  octavo  on  political  economy,  that  wTas  getting 
into  fashion.  Several  three-volume-duodtcimo  men  of  fair 
currency,  were  placed  ahout  the  centre  of  the  table ;  while  the 
lower  end  was  taken  up  with  small  poets,  translators,  and 
authors  who  had  not  as  yet  risen  with  much  notoriety.''9 

Emphasis  of  Comparison  and  Contrast  in  Equal  and  Single 
Farts. 

[EXTRACT   FROM    A    SERMON.] 

"  The  2high  and  the  Uiu,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  approach, 
in  point  of  real  enjoyment,  much  nearer  to  each  other,  than  is 
commonly  imagined.  Providence  never  intended  that  any 
state  here  should  be  either  completely  happy,  or  entirely  mis- 
erable. If  the  feelings  of  pleasure  are  more  numerous  and 
more  lively  in  the  higher  departments  of  life,  such  also  are 
those  of  pain.  If  greatness  flatters  our  vanity,  it  multiplies 
our  dangers.  If  opulence  increases  our  gratifications,  it 
increases,  in  the  same  proportion,  our  desires  and  demands. 
If  the  poor  are  confined  to  a  more  narrow  circle,  yet  wTithin 
that  circle  lie  most  of  those  natural  satisfactions,  which,  after 
all  the  refinements  of  art,  are  xound  to  be  the  most  genui?ie 
and  trive.  y 

Comparison  and  Contrast  in  Equal  and  Double  Parts. 
[Homer  and  Virgil.]  — Blair. 
"  In  2H6?ner,  we  discern  all  the  Greek  vivacity  ;  in  Virgil^ 

1  Usually,  a  downward  slide  of  the  second  accompanies  the  "emphasis  of 
designation." 

2  In  the  parallel  or  antithesis  of  equal  and  single  parts,  the  slides  exhibit 
he  intervals  of  the  upward  and  downward  "  third." 

8  In  contrasts  of  double  parts,  the  primary  members  ha*73  the  "  sJi.ie  "  oi  th# 
fc  third  j"  b;t  the  inferior  ones  that  of  the  "  second." 


196  ORTHOPHONY 

all  the  Roman  staieliness.  Homer's  imagination  is  by  much 
the  most  rich  and  copious ;  Virgil's  the  most  chaste  and  cor* 
rkt.  The  strength  of  ihe  former  lies,  in  his  power  of  wann- 
ing the  fancy  ;  that  of  the  latter,  in  his  power  of  touching  the 
heart.  Homer's  style  is  more  simple  and  animated ;  Virgil s 
more  elegant  and  uniform.  The  first  has,  on  many  occa- 
sions, a  sublimity  to  which  the  latter  never  attains ;  but  the 
latter,  in  return,  never  sinks  below  a  certain  degree  of  epic 
dignity,  which  cannot  so  clearly  be  pronounced  of  the  former" 

Comparison  and  Contrast  in  Unequal  Parts. 

"  Better  be 
Where  the  extinguished  Spartans  still  are  free, 
In  their  proud  charnel  of  *  Thermopylae. 
Than  stagnate  in  our  marsh." 

Phrases  of  Successive  Emphatic  Words. 

"  The  British  army,  traversing  the  Carnatic,  after  the  deso- 
lation effected  by  Hyder  Ali,  beheld2  not  one  living  thing,  not 
one  mmi,  not  one  woman,  not  one  child,  not  one  four-footed 
beast,  of  any  description  whatever."3 

III.  —  "Arbitrary  Emphasis." 

The  form  of  utterance  to  which  this  designation  may  be  applied 
is  that  "expression,"  or  significance,  whether  of  loudness,  pitch 
"  time,"  "  melody,"  or  other  property  of  vocal  efFect,  in  consequence 
of  which  the  sense,  or  the  connexion  and  structure  of  the  parts  of  a 
sentence,  may  he  rendered  apparent  by  modification  of  voice,  applied 
extemporaneously,  daring  the  moment  of  reading,  at  the  discretion 
and  by  the  will  of  the  reader,  rather  than  in  compliance  with  any  gen- 
eral rule  of  feeling  or  of  elocution.  This  "  arbitrary  emphasis"  is 
greatly  aided  in  its  effect  by  a  corresponding  abatement  or  depres- 
sion of  voice,  in  clauses  which  precede  or  follow  the  word  or  phrase 
of  "  arbitrary  emphasis,"  or  which  occur  between  two  such  words  or 

1  The  preponderant  member  lias  the  downward,  —  the  weaker,  the  upward 
"slide." 

2  In  emphatic  phrases,  every  word  takes  a  distinct  and  opposite  "slide." 

^  The  subjects  of  "slide,"  ("  inflection,")  "rhetorical"  pause,  emphasis, 
and  the  other  grammatical  and  sentential  parts  of  elocution,  are  discussed  at 
greater  length  in  the  "  Elocutionist."  The  present  work  is  designed  as  ;i 
manual  of  elementary  practice  in  orthophony,  and  is  limited,  chiefly,  to  ex 
anipJes  and  exercises. 


EMPHASIS    ANfc      '  EXPRESSION.  197 

phrases  This  "discharging1"  of  "  expression,"  as  it  mny  be 
termed, —  in  reference  to  the  analogous  process  of  discharging  ink  or 
color  from  the  surface  of  an  object,  will,  of  course,  take  place  by  a 
reduction,  abatement,  or  depression,  of  one  or  all  the  elements  of 
vocal  effect.  The  "  arbitrary  emphasis  "  may,  at  the  pleasure  of  the 
reader,  heighten  the  "expression"  arising  from  "quality,"  force, 
pitch,  "slide,"  "  melodial  phrase,"  "time,"  "quantity,"  "move- 
ment," &c.  ;  so  may  the  "  reduction  "  of  emphasis,  diminish  or  sub- 
due, or  destroy  any  or  all  of  these. 

"  Arbitrary  emphasis,"  and  "  reduction  "  may  be  employed  wrhere 
but  a  single  parenthetic  word  intervenes  to  break  the  current  of  lan- 
guage ;  as  in  the  sentence,  "  The  sprout  was  carefully  protected  by 
a  stratum,  or  layer,  of  leaves."  The  words  "  stratum  "  and  "  leaves  " 
are  in  this  instance,  pronounced  with  a  slight  additional  force,  an 
enlarged  interval  of  "  slide  "  and  prolonged  "  quantity  ;"  while  the 
words  "  or  layer"  are  reduced  in  force,  shortened  in  "quantity," 
and  levelled  into  "  monotone,"  m  the  manner  of  parenthesis 

The  following  example  will  exhibit  the  same  effects  more  dis- 
tinctly ;  as  poetic  language  is  naturally  more  expressive  than  pros« 

"  On  the  other  side, 
Incensed  with  indignation,  Satan  stood 
Unterrified,  and  like  a  comet  (l  burned,) 
That  fires  the  length  of  Ophiuchus  huge, 
In  the  arctic  sky." 

The  arrangement  of  the  words,  in  this  sentence,  throws  the  word 
"burned"  into  a  parenthetic  situation,  in  consequence  of  the  gram- 
matical connexion  between  the  words  "comet"  and  "  that."  To 
atone  to  the  ear  for  this  verbal  dislocation,  the  word  "  comet "  takes 
on  an  additional  force,  a  lower  "  slide,"  a  longer  "  quantity  "  in  its 
accented  syllable,  and  a  more  descriptive  swell  of  "  stress,"  than  it 
would  otherwise  have.  The  line,  "That  fires"  &c,  is  also  read 
with  a  resuming  force  of  expression,  borrowed,  as  it  were,  from  the 
style  of  voice  in  the  word  "comet;"  while  the  word  "burned," 
(which,  as  being  a  descriptive  verb,  must  possess  a  degree  of  accent,) 
is  rendered  parenthetic  in  effect,  by  being  thrown  into  "  monotone," 
instead  of  a  downward  "  slide,"  and  by  being  somewhat  reduced  in 
force,  and  raised  in  pitch  ;  while  its  descriptive  power  is  retained  by 
prolonged  "  quantity  "  and  "  median  swell." 

The  following  examples  will  illustrate  the  effect  of  "  arbitrary 
emphasis  "  and  "  reduction,"  where  a  clause  is  to  be  partially  paren- 
thesized, so  as  to  preserve  the  connexion  of  sense,  on  each  side  of  it. 

"  Say  first,  for  Heaven,  (hides  nothing  from  thy  view,) 
Nor  the  deep  tract  of  hell." 

1  The  crotchets  of  parenthesis  are  introduced  here,  not  as  belonging  to  th« 
test  but  as  an  ocular  aid,  with  a  view  to  sugsrQ«t  the  proper  style  of  reading 
i£  th*  ear. 

17* 


198  ORTHOPHONY. 

"  Thus  while  he  spake,  each  passion  (dimmed  his  faco 
Thrice  changed  with  pale,)  ire,  envy,  and  despair:" 

H  There  was  a  Brutus  once  that  would  have  brooked 
(The  eternal  Devil  to  keep  his  state  in  Rome) 
As  easily  \  as  a  king." 

The  student  may  analyze  for  himself  the  effect  of  the  "  arbifaiy 
emphasis  "  and  "  reduced  expression,"  as  indicated  by  the  italics  and 
the  parenthesis. 

The  slight,  level,  and  rapid  "  expression,"  which  takes  place  on 
cla  lses  such  as  that  included  within  crotchets,  Dr.  Rush  has  termed 
the  "flight"  of  the  voice,  and  the  emphatic  connecting  "expres- 
sion," the  "  emphatic  tie." 

The  effect  of  these  modifications  of  voice  will  be  rendered  still  more 
apparent  by  longer  examples. 

"  He  stood,  and  called 
His  legions,  angel  forms,  who  lay  entranced 
Thick  as  autumnal  leaves  (that  strow  the  brooks 
In  Vallambrosa,  where  the  Etrurian  shades, 
High  over-arched,  embower ;)  or  scattered  sedge 
Afloat,  when  with  fierce  winds  Orion  armed 
Hath  vexed  the  Red-sea  coast." 

The  same  mode  of  reading  applies  to  all  actual  parentheses,  or 
similar  qualifying  phrases,  and  their  context ;  as  in  the  following  in- 
stances, from  Scripture. 

"  Therefore  it  is  of  faith,  that  it  might  be  by  grace ;  to  the 
end  the  promise  might  be  sure  to  all  the  seed :  not  to  that  only 
which  is  of  the  law,  but  to  that  also  which  is  of  the  faith  of 
Abraham,  who  is  the  father  of  us  all,  (as  it  is  written,  *  I  have 
made  thee  a  father  of  many  nations,')  before  him  whom  ho 
believed,  even  God,. who  quickeneth  the  dead,  and  calieth 
those  things  which  be  not,  as  though  they  were." 

"  For  as  many  as  have  sinned  without  law,  shall  aiso 
perish  without  law ;  and  as  many  as  have  sinned  in  the  h  v, 
shall  be  judged  by  the  law,  (for  not  the  hearers  of  the  law  are 
just  before  God,. but  the  doers  of  the  law  shall  be  justified; 
for  when  the  Gentiles,  which  have  not  the  law,  do  by  nature 
the  things  contained  in  the  law,  these,  having  not  the  law 
are  a  law  unto  themselves  :  which  show  the  work  of  the  iavf 


EMPHASIS   AND    li  EXPRESSION."  199 

written  in  their  hearts,  their  conscience  also  bearing  witness, 
<md  their  thoughts,  the  meanwhile,  accusing,  or  else  excusing 
one  another ;)  in  the  day  when  God  shall  judge  the  secret3 
of  men  by  Jesus  Christ,  according  to  my  gospel.', 

[Zanga,  relating  the  origin  of  his  hatred  of  Alonzo.] — Young. 

"  'T  is  twice  three  years  since  that  great  man, 
(Great  let  me  call  him,  for  he  conquered  me,) 
Made  me  the  captive  of  his  arm  in  fight. 

"  One  day,  (may  that  returning  day  be  night, 
The  stain,  the  curse,  of  each  succeeding  year !) 
For  something,  or  for  nothing,  in  his  pride 
He  struck  me.     (While  I  tell  it  do  I  live  ?) 
He  smote  me  on  the  cheek." 

[Corporal  Trim's  Eloquence.]  —  Sterne 

— — "  My  young  master  in  London  is  dead,"  said  Oba- 
iiah.— 

'*  Here  is  sad  news,  Trim," — l  cried  Susannah,  wiping  her 
eyes  as  Trim  stepped  into  the  kitchen, — "master  Bobby  is 
dead." 

"  I  lament  for  him  from  my  heart  and  my  soul," — l  said 
Trim,  fetching  a  sigh, — "  Poor  creature  ! — poor  boy  ! — poor 
gentleman  ! " 

"  He  was  alive  last  Whitsuntide,"  said  the  coachman.  — 
*  Whitsuntide  !  alas  !"2  cried  Trim,  extending  his  right  arm, 
and  falling  instantly  into  the  same  attitude  in  which  he  read 
the  sermon,  "  What  is  Whitsuntide,  Jonathan,"  (for  that  was 
the  coachman's  name,)  "  or  Shrovetide,  or  any  tide  or  time 
past,  to  this  ?  Are  we  not  here  now  ?"  Continued  the  corpo- 
ral, (striking  the  end  of  his  stick  perpendicularly  upon  the 
floor,  so  as  to  give  an  idea  of  health  and  stability,)  "  and  are 
we  not"  (dropping  his  hat  upon  the  ground)  "gone!  in  a 
moment ! " — It  was  infinitely  striking !     Susannah  burst  into 

1  Phrases  occurring  between  two  dashes,  are  sometimes  equivalent  to  a 
parenthesis  in  effect. 

2  All  intervening  clauses  and  phrases,  of  whatever  length  are  read  is  th« 
Style  ol  parenthesis. 


200  ORTHOPHONY. 

a  flood  of  tears.  —  We  are  not  stocks  arid  stones  : — Jonathan, 
Obadiah,  the  cookmaid,  all  melted.  —  The  foolish  fat  scullior 
herself,  who  was  scouring  a  fish-kettle  upon  her  knees,  was 
roused  with  it.  —  The  whole  kitchen  crowded  about  the  cor- 
poral. 

"Are  wc  net  here  now, — and  gone  in  a  moment?" — 
There  was  nothing  in  the  sentence: — it  was  one  of  your 
self-evident  truths  we  have  the  advantage  of  hearing  every 
day ;  and  if  Trim  had  not  trusted  more  to  his  hat  than  his 
head,  he  had  made  nothing  at  all  of  it. 

"  Are  we  not  here  now  ? "  continued  the  corporal,  "  and  are 
we  not"  (dropping  his  hat  plump  upon  the  ground,  —  and 
pausing  before  he  pronounced  the  word)  "  gone !  in  a  mo- 
ment!"—  The  descent  of  the  hat  was  as  if  a  heavy  lump  of 
clay  had  been  kneaded  into  the  crown  of  it.  —  Nothing  could 
have  expressed  the  sentiment  of  mortality, — of  which  it  was 
the  type  and  forerunner, — like  it:  his  hand  seemed  to  vanish 
from  under  it ;  it  fell  dead ;  the  corporal's  eye  fixed  upon  it, 
as  upon  a  corpse; — and  Susannah  burst  into  a  flood  of 
tears." 

"  EXPRESSION." 

Emphasis,  fully  defined  for  the  purposes  of  elocution,  is 
prominent  "  expression,"  embodied  in  an  accented  syllable. 
It  bears  the  same  relation  to  "  expression,"  in  its  full  sense, 
that  "  syllabic  accent"  bears  to  "  rhythmical  accent."  It  may 
be  restricted  to  a  single  word :  "  expression "  applies,  as  in 
music,  to  the  sequence  of  sounds,  in  connected  and  consecutive 
utterance,  designed  for  the  communication  of  feeling. 

"  Expression,"  however,  while  it  contains  the  same  ele- 
ments with  emphasis,  comprises  a  few  more.  It  includes  the 
effects  arising  from  "  quality,"  in  all  its  forms,  "  pure,"  "  aspi- 
rated," &c,  and  from  the  "  effusive,"  "  expulsive,"  and  "  ex- 
plosive" modes  of  utterance;  from  force  in  all  its  gradations 
from  whispering  to  shouting;  "stress,"  in  its  "radical,* 
"  median,"  "  vanishing,"  "  compound,"  and  "  thorough  ' 
forms ;  "  tremor ;"  "  melody,"  "  pitch,"  "  slide  "  and  "  wave  * 


u  EXPRESSION."  201 

in  all  their  fo/ms;  M  time,"  in  all  its  influence  over  "  move- 
ment," "  rhythm,"  and  metre.  These  modifications  of  voice 
have  all  been  discussed  and  exemplified.  But  to  all  these, 
"  expression"  adds  the  effect  of  "  drift,"  as  it  has  been  termed 
by  Dr.  Eush, — or,  in  other  words,  the  impression  produced 
on  the  ear  by  the  frequent  or  successive  recurrence  of  any 
mode  or  element  of  "  expression." 

"  Drift,' '  accordingly,  is  either  an  excellence  or  a  fault,  according 
t?  the  circumstances  in  which  it  is  adopted  as  a  mode  of  elfect. 
When  a  passage  is  so  pervaded  by  one  mood  of  feeling,  and  by  one 
style  of  language  and  of  structure,  and  even  by  one  form  of  phrase, 
that  a  special  unity  of  effect  is  obviously  designed,  as  a  result  in  audi- 
ble expression,  —  a  frequent  trait  of  declamatory  eloquence  and  even 
of  poetic  emotion,  to  which  metre  still  farther  contributes,  —  the 
"drift,"  —  or  frequently  recurring  "quality,"  force,  "stress," 
"  melody,"  pitch,  "  slide,"  "  wave,"  "  movement,"  or  "rhythm," 
—  for  a  "drift"  maybe  constituted  by  the  frequent  recurrence  of 
one,  or  of  several,  or  of  all  of  these  accidents  of  voice, — has  the 
effect  of  deepening  the  impression  arising  from  the  sentiment  as  a 
whole.  Hence  we  may  observe  that  the  "drift,"  of  recurring 
"  melody,"  or  what,  in  popular  language,  is  termed  a  "  lone,"  is 
often  a  means  of  powerful  and  deep  impression  on  the  ear  and  on  the 
external  sympathies  of  an  audience,  when  there  is  little  of  unity, 
force,  or  weight,  in  the  sentiment  which  the  speaker  utters. 

The  ear  of  discerning  judgment  and  of  true  taste,  however,  is 
always  offended,  rather  than  pleased,  by  any  perceptible  drift  not 
authorized  by  a  predominating  emotion  associated  with  the  language 
of  a  speaker,  or  the  composition  in  the  hands  of  a  reader.  Still,  a 
gentle  and  chaste  ' '  drift ' '  is  one  of  the  natural  secrets  of  effect,  in 
elocution,  and  should  be  carefully  observed  and  closely  analyzed,  by 
every  student  who  is  desirous  of  securing  a  master-key  to  the  human 
heart. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  on  this  subject  after  the  discussion  and 
exemplification  of  emphasis.  We  will  conclude  with  referring  to  two 
examples  which  will  fully  illustrate  the  effect  of  "  drift."  Let  the 
student  read  aloud,  with  well-marked  "  expression,"  the  first  exam- 
ple of  "  impassioned  emphasis,"  (the  reply  of  Coriolanus  to  the  tri- 
bunes,) and  watch  the  impression  produced  on  the  ear  by  the  recur 
jence  of  those  vehement  and  infuriated  downward  "slides,"  which 
occur  in  the  words  marked  by  italics  and  capitals  :  and  he  will  obtain 
a  clear  idea  of  the  effect  arising  from  the  "  drift  "  of  that  "  slide." 
The  student  may  then  turn  to  the  Appendix,  and  read  aloud,  for  the 
sake  of  a  wide -contrast  in  "  drift,"  the  tender,  pathetic,  and  "  chro- 
matic "  lines  illustrative  of  "  feminine  grief  and  sorrow,"  under  the 
head  of  "  semitone,"  in  which  will  be  found  the  opposite  "  drift" 
of  recurring  "  semitone,"  and  other  prevailing  properties  of  kindred 
character. 


THIRD   TABLE    OB    ORTII OPIION  I, 


EXERCISES  ON  THE  ELEME>TS  OF  "  EXPE  ESSION.' 
WHISPERING. 

11  All  's  hushed  as  midnight,  yet ! 
1  No  noise  !  and  enter." l 

HALF- WHIS  PER. 

"  Step  softly,  and  speak  low, 
For  the  old  year  lies  a  dying ! " 

s  "  PURE    TONE." 

"  Pale  mourned  the  lily  where  the  rose  had  die^  !M 
"  Oh !  that  this  lovely  vale  were  mine  ! " 
'    "  Joy  !  joy  forever !    My  task  is  done  ! " 

"  OROTUND." 

"  Farewell !  a  long  farewell  to  all  my  greatness  ! " 

•'  Hail !  holy  Light,  —  offspring  of  heaven,  first-born ! " 

"  Sound  drums  and  trumpets,  boldly  and  cheerfully ! " 

FORCE. 

Very  soft :— "  Oh !  lightly,  lightly  tread  ! " 

Soft: — "  Take,  holy  Earth,  all  that  my  soul  holds  dear !" 

Moderate: — "  The  breath  of  spring  awakens  the  flowers." 

Loud : — "  Up !  let  us  to  the  fields  away  ! " 

Yery  loud : — "  Liberty !   Freedom  !    Tyranny  is  dead ! " 

STRESS. 

Impassioned  Explosive  Radical : — "  Up !  comrades,  up  !     In 
Rokeby's  halls 
Ne'er  be  it  said  our  courage  falls  ! " 
Unimpassioned  Radical: — "A  clear,  distinct  articulation  is 

an  invaluable  accomplishment." 
Median  Stress: — "  Oh !  I  have  lost  you  all,  parents,  and  home 
and  friends  ! " 
"  O  Lord,  my  God,  Thou  art  very  great ! " 
"  The  shades  of  eve  came  slowly  down." 
Vanishing  Stress :  —  "  For  Heaven's  sake,  Hubert,  let  me  not 
be  bound !" 
"  While  a  single  foreign  troop  remained  on  my  native 
shore,  I  would  never  lay  down  my  arms.     Never 
never,  NEVER!" 

1  Repeat,  after  every  example,  in  its  peculiar  tone,  the  elements  and  a  selec  • 
don  from  the  syllables  and  words  in  the  first  and  second  tables  of  Orthophony 


ORTHOPHONY.  203 

Compound  Stress: — "What!  to  attribute  the  sacred  sanc- 
tions of  God  and  nature  to  the  massacres  of  the 
Indian  scalping-knife ! " 

Thorough  Sfrcss: — "Awake!  arise!  or  be  forever  fallen ! " 

riTcn. 
Lowest: — "Silence  how  dead!     and   darkness    how  pro- 

found!" 
Low: — "  Dark  flow  thy  tides  o'er  manhood's  noble  head." 
Middle: — "Lovely  art  thou,  0  Peace,  and  lovely  are  thy 
children." 
"  lie  leadeth  me  by  the  still  waters." 
High : — "  Now  even  now,  my  joys  run  high  ! " 
Highest : — "  Wheel  the  wild  dance,  till  the  morning  break !" 

MOVEMENT. 

Slowest: — "  Creation  sleeps:  —  'Tis  as  the  general  pulse 
Of  life  stood  still,  and  Nature  made  a  pause, — 
An  awful  pause, — prophetic  of  her  end!" 
SZoio: — "Now  fades  the  glimmering  landscape  from  the 
sight, 
And  all  the  air  a  solemn  stillness  holds." 
Moderate: — "  One  great  end  to  which  all  knowledge  ought 

to  be  employed,  is  the  welfare  of  humanity." 
Lively: — "Crowned  with  her  pail,  the  tripping  milkmaid 

sings ! " 
Brisk: — "  Haste  thee,  Nymph,  and  bring  with  thee 

Mirth  and  youthful  jollity  ! " 
Rapid: — "And   rushing   and   flushing  and  brushing  and 
gushing, 
And  flapping  and  rapping  and  clapping  and  slap« 

And  curling  and  whirling  and  purling  and  twirl 

Advancing  and  glancing  and  prancing  and  da  no 

ing,— 
T  is  this  way  the  water  comes  down  at  Lodor&  * 


FOURTH   TABLE   OF    0  RT  II  OPJION  T. 


COMBINATIONS  OF  EXPRESSION,  IN  TONES  OF  EMOI  ON 

COURAGE. 

Orotuni  Quality,  Loud  Utterance,  Thorough  Stress,  High 
Pitch,  Brisk  Movement. 
Come  one,  come  all,  —  this  rock  shall  fly 
From  its  firm  base  as  soon  as  I.1 

FEAR. 

Half  Wliisper,  Suppressed  Farce,  Explosive  Radical  Stress, 

Highest  Pitch,  Rapid  Movement. 
<;  While  thronged  the  citizens,  with  terror  dumb, 
Or  whispering  with  white  lips,  *  The  foe !  they  come,  they 
come  !  ■  " 

JOY. 

Orotund  Quality,  Loudest  Utterance,  Thorough  Stress,  High 
Pitch,  Lively  Movement. 
"  J°y>  j°y  •  shout,  shout  aloud  for  joy ! " 

GRIEF. 

Orotund   Quality,    Subdued    Force,   Vanishing    Stress  and 

Tre^ior,  Middle  Pitch,  Sloiv  Movement. 

"  Oh !  pardon  me,  thou  bleeding  piece  of  earth ! " 

AWE. 

Orotund,  slightly  aspirated,  Suppressed  Force,  Median  Stress, 

Lowest  Pitch,  Slowest  Movement. 

"  It  thunders  !  —  sons  of  dust  in  reverence  bow ! " 

ANGER. 

Aspirated  Orotund,   Loudest    Utterance,   Explosive  Radical 
Stress,  Middle  Pitch,  Rapid  Movement. 
"  Back  to  thy  punishment,  false  fugitive  ' " 

ADMIRATION. 

Pure  Tone,  Earnest  Utterance,  Median  Stress,  High  Pitch, 
Lively  Movement. 
"  Oh  !  speak  again,  bright  angel ! " 

HURRY. 

Aspirated    Orotund,   Loudest  Utterance,  Explosive  Radical 

St7mess,  Middle  Pitch,  Rapid  Movement. 

"  Send  out  more  horses  !  skirr  the  country  round  ' " 

TRANQUILLITY. 

Orotund   Quality,  Gentle  Utterance,   Median  Stress,  Middli 

Pitch.  Slow  Movement. 
14  O'er  all  the  peaceful  world  the  smile  of  heaven  shall  lie  ! " 

1  After  practising  each  example,  repeat  the  elemeuts  and  the  words  contain 
IligliieiR..  .1  ifaj  peculiar  style  of  the  example. 


FIFTH  TABLE   OF   ORTHOPHOHI. 


EXERCISES  IN  THE  DIFFERENT  FORMS  OF  VERSE. 

IAMBIC    METRE. 

Blank  Versfe: — "And  earthly  pride1  |  is  like  the  pausing 
flower, 
That  springs  |  to  fall,  and  blossoms  |  but  to  die,  * 
Heroic  Verse: — "  Like  leaves  on  trees  |  the  race  of  man  |  is 
found ; 
Now  |  green  in  youth,  now  |  withering  on  the  ground." 
Octosyllabic  Verse: — "  The  spacious  firmament  |  on  high, 
With  all  the  blue  ethereal  sky, 
And  spangled  heavens,  a  shining  frame, 
Their  great  Original  proclaim." 
Common  Metre: — "  Thy  love  |  the  power  of  thought  bestowed ; 
To  Thee  J  my  thoughts  would  soar : 
Thy  mercy  |  o'er  my  life  has  flowed. 
That  mercy  1 1  adore." 

TROCHAIC    METRE. 

"  Softly  sweet,  in  Lydian  measures, 
Soon  he  soothed  his  soul  to  pleasures : 
War,  he  sung,  is  toil  and  trouble, — 
Honor  |  but  an  empty  bubble. " 

ANAPJSSTIC   METRE. 

"  How  fleet  |  is  a  glance  of  the  mind ! 

Compared  with  the  speed  of  its  flight, 
The  tempest  itself  J  lags  behind, 

And  the  swift-winged  arrows  of  light." 

"  The  evening  was  glorious,  and  light,  through  the  trees, 
Played  the  sunshine  |  and  raindrops,  the  birds  |  and  the  breeze ; 
The  landscape,  outstretching  in  loveliness,  lay  | 
On  the  lap  of  the  year,  in  the  beauty  of  May." 

1  The  carefui  observance  of  these  shorter  pauses,  is  the  surest  means  of 
avoiding  the  tendency  to  a  jingling  style  in  reading  verse. 

18 


18* 


APPENDIX. 


THE   ORGANS  OF  VOICE. i 

A  labored  and  minute  uescription  of  the  organs  of  the  hitman 
voice,  would  be  incompatible  with  the  design  of  a  brief  and  practical 
work,  such  as  this.  Nor  is  an  exact  anatomical  knowledge  of  these 
parts  of  the  human  frame,  or  a  profound  investigation  of  the  physi- 
ology of  their  functions,  essential  to  the  purposes  of  culture.  Ail 
that  is  aimed  at,  in  the  following  observations,  is,  to  impart  such  an 
idea  of  organic  structure  and  action,  as  is  indispensable  to  an  intelli- 
gent, voluntary  use  of  the  vocal  organs. 

To  examine  the  corporeal  mechanism  of  speech,  we  commence 
with  a  survey  of  the  trunk  of  the  body,  the  great  cavity,  or  mam 
pipe,  of  vocal  sound,  and  the  seat  of  the  principal  apparatus  whoso 
motions  give  origin  to  voice.  As  the  first  step  in  our  investigation, 
then,  we  wish  to  withdraw  the  student's  attention  entirely  from  the 
tongue,  the  mouth,  and  the  throat,  —  the  immediate,  and,  as  it  were, 
conscious  instruments  of  utterance,  and  to  fasten  the  thoughts  on  the 
sources  of  voice,  —  the  unconscious,  and,  in  part,  the  involuntary, 
action  of  the  muscles  which  enlarge  and  compress  the  cavity  of  the 
organic  frame,  and  render  it  a  resonant  body. 

The  production  of  vocal  sound,  is,  to  a  certain  extent,  identical 
with  the  function  of  breathing.  A  person  in  health,  and  free  from 
pain,  breathes  without  any  perceptible  sound,  but  that  gentle  whis- 
pering effect  which  is  produced  by  inspiration  and  expiration,-— 
drawing  in  and  giving  forth  the  breath.  We  observe  this  process 
exemplified  in  the  tranquil  breathing  of  one  who  is  reading  silently. 
JJut  let  the  reader  come  to  a  passage  of  intense  interest  and  exciting 

1  To  facilitate  the  use  of  this  manual  in  practical  instruction,  subjects 
which  demand  the  attention  of  adult  students  principally,  are  transferred  to 
the  appendix  of  this  edition.  Individuals  who  can  command  the  requisite  op- 
portunities of  acquiring  actual  information  concerning  the  structure  of  the  vocal 
organs,  would  do  well  to  attend  anatomical  dissections,  and  particularly  post 
mortem  examinations  of  the  parts;  as  the  tendency  of  the  membranous  lining 
of  the  organic  apparatus  to  shrink,  when  cold,  and  to  shrivel,  when  dry,  does 
not  easily  admit  of  a  true  exhibition,  —  either  in  mannikin  models,  anatomi- 
cal preparations,  or  engraved  illustrations,  —  of  the  most  important  of  all  the 
instruments  of  phonation,  —  the  surface  of  the  vocal  ligaments.  M.  Colom- 
bo! de  1' I  sere,  in  his  work  on  the  hygiene  and  diseases  of  the  voice,  indxatef 
the  not  Uncommon  errors,  even  of  professional  men, "on  this  point. 


212  APPENDIX. 

emotion  ;  and  the  breathing  becomes,  in  consequence  of  the  heighfr 
ened  organic  action,  caused  by  excessive  feeling,  hard  and  laborious: 
its  force  renders  it  plainly  audible.  A  sigh,  a  sob,  or  a  partial 
groan,  perhaps,  follows  as  the  result  of  the  over-excited  action  of  the 
breathing  apparatus.  Breath  thus  becomes  sound.  We  have  hero 
the  history  of  involuntary  voice. 

A  parallel  illustration  might  be  drawn  from  the  hard  breathing,  tho 
suppressed  or  loud  groans,  and  the  articulate  exclamations,  of  a  per- 
son suffering  through  the  various  stages  of  pain,  from  uneasiness  to 
agony.  But  it  is  unnecessary  to  pursue  examples  of  the  fact  that 
the  function  of  breathing,  when  rendered  intense,  becomes  vocal.  To 
analyze  the  human  voice,  therefore,  or  to  trace  the  organic  mechan- 
ism of  speech,  we  must  examine  the  apparatus  employed  in  the  act 
of  bteathing. 

We  commence  our  investigation  with  the  primary  action  of  inspira- 
tion, or  inhaling  breath.  A  person  in  good  health,  draws  in  breath 
by  an  exertion,  partly  involuntary,  partly  voluntary,  of  those  muscles 
which,  by  a  combined  act,  expand,  and,  at  the  same  time,  raise  the 
chest,  and  vonsequently  enlarge  the  cavity  called  the  thorax,  —  the 
region  between  the  neck  and  the  stomach.  The  degree  of  freedom 
and  energy,  in  this  muscular  action,  decides,  of  course,  the  extent  to 
which  the  thoracic  cavity  is  enlarged,  and  the  volume  of  air  which  is 
inhaled :  it  decides  also,  as  a  natural  consequence,  the  capacity  of 
resonance  in  the  chest,  and  the  fulness  of  the  supply  of  breath,  —  the 
material  of  sound. 

These  preliminary  facts  teach  us  the  first  practical  lesson  in  tho 
cultivation  of  the  voice,  — the  necessity  of  maintaining  an  erect,  free 
expansive,  unembarrassed,  posture  of  the  chest,  as  an  indispensable 
condition  of  full,  clear,  distinct,  effective,  and  appropriate  utterance 

Continuing  our  investigation  of  voice,  we  return,  for  a  moment,  tr 
the  case  of  a  person  in  the  act  of  silent  reading.  Let  the  reader 
come  to  a  passage,  not  of  exciting  effect  or  vivid  emotion,  but  of  pro- 
found and  absorbing  thought,  which  fixes  the  attention,  with  extreme 
earnestness,  on  an  abstruse  subject,  rivets  the  mind  on  a  single  point, 
requiring  the  closest  discrimination,  or  leads  it  away  in  a  train  of 
abstract,  thought :  let  there  be,  in  one  word,  what  we  term  a  "  breath- 
less "  attention ;  and  we  observe  the  person  at  once  in  the  situation 
which  we  designate  by  the  common  phrase,  "  holding  the  breath." 
The  reader,  so  situated,  neither  attempts  to  inhale  a  fresh  breaih,  noi 
to  let  go  that  which  he  has  inhaled ;  his  chest  becomes,  as  it  were, 
fixed  and  immovable ;  in  the  intensity  of  his  attention  to  a  mental 
object,  he  forgets  and  neglects  the  organic  demands  of  the  vital  pro- 
cesses ;  he  unconsciously  sympathizes  with  the  stimulated  condition 
of  his  brain;  and  his  nervous  energy  takes  that  direction,  —  to  the 
suspension,  almost,  of  the  functions  of  breathing,  and  even  of  circu- 
lation, and  digestion, —  hence  the  enfeebled  state  of  the  lungs,  the 
paleness  of  the  countenance,  and  the  coldness  of  the  extremities, 
which  attend  close  mental  application,  when  inter.se  or  long  contin- 
ued.    Such  is  the  condition  of  the  human  being,  under  the  spell  of 


PRODUCTION    OF    VOICE.  213 

the  intellectual  instincts,  when  nature  is  absorbing  the  powers  o/life, 
for  the  purposes  of  fixed  thought,  and  is  forbidding  utterance,  or  ex- 
pression, or  any  external  manifestation  of  mind.  Voice  is,  in  such 
circumstances,  silenced  ;  and  the  organs  are,  for  the  time,  irrevocably 
closed,  by  the  stricture  which  is  thrown  over  them. 

But  let  us  continue  our  observation  of  this  silent  reader;  and  we 
may  perceive,  perhaps,  an  immediate  and  entire  change  of  phenom- 
ena. The  spell  of  irresistible  attraction  in  the  page  of  the  book,  has 
ceased  ;  the  cloud  of  perplexity  has  passed  away ;  the  difficulty  is 
solved  ;  the  discrimination  is  made  ;  the  doubt  is  cleared  up  ;  or  the 
train  of  thought  is  come  to  an  issue.  As  a  consequence,  the  rigor  of 
the  brow  relaxes  ;  a  radiant  smile  takes  its  place ;  the  suspended 
breathing  is  resumed,  with  a  deep  and  full  expiration,  which  seems 
to  let  go  the  imprisoned  function  ;  the  returning  blood  restores  its 
hue  to  the  cheek  and  the  lip;  animation  once  more  sparkles  in  the 
eye  ;  the  heart  resumes  the  throb  of  life  ;  and  a  genial  glow  is  dif- 
fused over  the  whole  frame  ;  an  exclamation  of  joy,  perhaps,  suc- 
ceeds ;  and  a  friend  standing  near,  is  invited,  in  cheerful  accents,  to 
partake  the  intellectual  pleasure  of  the  reader.  The  effect  on  the 
organs  of  speech,  in  such  circumstances,  is,  then,  that  the  breath  is 
no  longer  held  :  the  struggling  prisoner  escapes  in  a  sigh  of  instinc- 
tive, reactive  effort,  or  in  an  exclamation  of  delight. 

The  practical  lesson  here  taught,  is,  that  utterance  demands  a  free 
expulsion,  not  less  than  a  deep  inhalation  of  breath;  —  that  there 
must  be  a  vigorous  consentaneous  action  of  the  will,  along  with  the 
silent  involuntary  process  of  nature 

The  full  function  of  expiration,  when  carried  to  the  extent  of  ex- 
clamation, as  in  the  case  supposed,  implies  an  energetic  use  of  the 
lower  muscles  of  the  trunk,  —  those  which  are  termed  the  abdomi- 
nal,1—  to  impart,  by  upward  and  inward  impulse,  a  powerful  percus- 
sion to  the  diaphragm,  by  which  the  breath  contained  in  the  air-cells 
of  the  lungs,  is  forced  through  the  bronchial  tubes  and  the  trachea, 
towards  the  glottis  and  the  larynx,  where  it  is  converted  into  sound, 
and  thence  into  and  through  the  mouth,  and  the  cavity  of  the  head, 
where  it  is  modified  into  speech,  by  the  action  of  the  nasal  passage, 
the  tongue,  the  palate,  the  teeth,  and  the  lips,  in  the  various  func- 
tions of  articulate  utterance. 

The  engraved  figures  will  serve  to  impart  a  clearer  idea  than  can 
be  conveyed  by  words,  of  the  place  and  form  of  the  vocal  organs, 
together  with  their  action  in  the  production  of  sound. 

Figure  1  represents  the  principal  abdominal  muscle,  by  which  the 
first  expulsory  movement  terminating  in  sound,  is  produced.  The 
action  of  this  muscle,  in  energetic  and  abrupt  forms  of  utterance,  is 
nearly  the  same  in  kind,  though  not  in  degree,  with  that  which  takes 
place  in  the  sudden  shrinking  from  a  blow,  aimed  at  or  below  the 

-  In  shouting  and  calling,  and  other  violent  exertions  of  voice,  the  dorsal 
muscles,  —  those  of  the  lower  part  of  the  back,  —  partake  hi  the  expulsory 
(tot 


214  APPENDIX. 

sto  nach,  In  vigorous  utterance  of  a  steady  and  sustained  character, 
or  in  the  energetic  singing  of  long  notes,  a  powerful  and  continued 
upward  and  inward  pressure  of  the  abdominal  muscles,  takes  place, 
as  in  the  attitude  observed  in  swift  riding  on  horseback. 

2.  The  diaphragm,  which  by  an  upward  impulse,  consentaneous 
with  that  of  the  abdominal  muscles,  and  imparted  to  the  pleura,  or 
enveloping  membrane  of  the  lungs,  forces  the  breath  from  the  air- 
cells  into  the  bronchi,  and  thence  into  the  trachea  and  the  larynx. 

3.  The  thorax,  the  great  cavity  of  the  chest.  By  the  expansion 
and  compression  of  this  capacious  organ,  the  process  of  breathing 
is  conducted  ;  and  by  its  resonance,  the  voice  receives  depth  and 
vclume. 

4.  The  intercostal  muscles  at  the  lower,  and 

5.  The  thoracic  and  pectoral  muscles,  at  the  upper  part  of  the 
chest,  serve  to  dilate  and  compress  it,  in  the  acts  of  breathing  and  of 
utterance. 

6.  The  pleura,  a  membrane  which  envelopes  the  lungs,  and  pro 
pagates  to  their  cells  the  impulse  by  which  these  are  emptied  of  their 
successive  supplies  of  air  inhaled  at  the  intervals  of  speaking  or 
singing. 

7.  The  lungs*  a  spongy  body,  in  the  form  of  lobes,  into  the  cells, 
or  little  cavities,  of  which,  the  air  inhaled  in  breathing,  is  drawn,  and 
from  which  it  is  expelled  by  the  impulse  communicated,  as  mentioned 
before,  by  the  pleura,  and  derived  from  the  diaphragm  and  the  abdom- 
inal muscles. 

8.  The  bronchi,  or  twro  main  branches  of  the  trachea,  or  wind- 
pipe. These  two  tubes  are  themselves  subdivided  into  many  subor- 
dinate and  minute  ramifications,  which  serve  to  distribute  to  the 
air-cells  of  the  lungs,  —  in  which  they  terminate,  —  the  breath 
inhaled  through  the  trachea,  and  to  convey  that  which  is  expelled 
from  the  lungs,  by  the  impulsive  action  of  the  diaphragm,  into  the 
trachea,  the  larynx  and  the  mouth.  One  important  office  of  the  bron- 
chial ramifications,  is  to  vibrate,  and  thereby  aid  in  rendering  vocal 
the  column  of  air  which  is  emitted  from  the  cells  of  the  lungs. 

9.  The  trachea,  or  wind-pipe,  a  series  of  connected  cartilaginous, 
or  gristly,  rings,  forming  the  great  air-tube,  which  receives  and  con- 
ducts the  breath  to  and  from  the  lungs,  in  the  acts  of  inspiration  and 
expiration,  and  in  the  function  of  utterance. 

10.  The  larynx,  a  cartilaginous  box,  on  the  top  of  the  trachea,  the 
exterior  projection  of  which  is  familiarly  called  the  Adam's  apple,  in 
allusion  to  the  fabled  origin  of  this  part,  which  was  anciently  said  to 
have  owed  its  existence  to  Adam's  fatal  offence  in  swallowing  the 
forbidden  fruit.  The  whole  larynx  is  the  immediate  seat  and  general 
instrument  of  vocal  sound.  The  portions  of  this  organ,  which  aro 
immediately  concerned  in  the  production  of  sound,  are, 

11.  The  cricoid  cartilage,  situated  immediately  over  the  uppermost 
ring  of  the  trachea,  resembling,  in  form,  a  seal-ring,  from  which  it 
takes  its  name,  but  having  the  broad  part  at  the  back,  and  the  narrow 
in  front.  The  form  and  position  of  this  portion  of  the  larynx,  admit 
of  the  elevation  and  depression  of  its  parts,  —  one  step  in  the  process 
by  which  tone  is  rendered  grave  or  acute. 


ORGANS    OF    VOICE.  215 

1*2.  The  arytenoid  cartilages,  so  called,  from  their  fancied  resem- 
blance in  shape,  to  a  ladle,  funnel,  or  pitcher.  These  fill  up  the 
space  at  the  back  of  the  thyroid  and  cricoid  cartilages,  and  are  con- 
nected with  both  ;  while  they  serve  also  as  points  of  support  and  of 
tension,  for  the  vocal  ligaments. 

13.  The  thyroid  cari'age,  which  has  its  name  from  its  partial 
resemblance  to  the  form  of  a  buckler,  or  shield,  but  much  bent.  Its 
two  main  plates  form  the  walls,  or  sides,  of  the  larynx  ;  and  their  size 
usually  determines  the  capacity  of  the  voice,  as  we  observe,  in  their 
comparative  smallness  in  females  and  children,  and  their  great  expan- 
sion and  projection  in  men. 

The  comparative  solidity  of  texture,  in  all  these  component  por- 
tions of  the  larynx,  and  in  the  gristly  rings  of  which  the  trachea  is 
itself  composed,  give  them  the  power  of  rendering  the  voice  compact 
and  sonorous. 

14.  The  vocal  ligaments  extend  across  the  upper  part  of  the 
larynx,  and  form  the  lips  of  the  glottis,  and  by  their  vibration,  to- 
gether with  the  action  of  the  current  of  air  expelled  through  the  tra- 
chea and  larynx,  produce  the  phenomena  of  vocal  sound  or  voice 
and,  by  their  tension  or  remission,  the  effect  of  high  or  low  pitch. 

15.  The  glottis,  so  denominated  from  the  partial  resemblance  of 
its  shape  to  that  of  the  tongue,  is  a  small  chink,  or  opening,  which 
forms  the  mouth  of  the  larynx.  The  opening  and  the  contraction  of 
this  portion  of  the  vocal  apparatus,  decide,  in  part,  the  gravity  or  the 
shrillness  of  tone. 

All  the  parts  of  the  larynx  are  interconnected  by  ligaments,  and 
by  muscles  which  move  in  concerted  action,  so  as  to  expand  or  con- 
tract, raise  or  lower  the  whole  larynx,  and  thus  enlarge  or  diminish 
its  capacity,  and  elevate  or  depress  the  pitch  of  the  voice,  and  increase 
or  diminish  its  force.  The  whole  interior  of  the  larynx  is  lined  with 
a  continuation  of  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  mouth,  which  imparts 
to  it  a  vivid  sensibility  and  a  unity  of  action.  Hoarseness  is  the 
result  of  the  embarrassment  or  obstruction  of  this  membrane,  by  the 
mucous  accumulations  arising  from  colds  or  catarrh,  or  the  injudi- 
cious habit  of  using  cold  water  too  freely,  during  the  exercise  of 
speaking. 

10.  The  epiglottis,  the  valve,  or  lid,  which,  when  the  larynx  is 
elevated,  as  in  the  act  of  swallowing,  covers  the  glottis,  or  orifice  of 
the  windpipe,  and  prevents  strangulation.  Its  usual  erect  position 
allows  free  ingress  and  egress  to  the  breath.  But,  in  some  instances 
of  intensely  impassioned  utterance,  its  pressure,  against  the  glottis, 
becomes  an  additional  preparative  for  the  ultimate  explosive  eruption 
of  voice. 

17.  At  the  root  of  the  tongue,  lies  a  small  crescent-shaped  or 
hoiseshoe-formed  bone,  called,  from  its  resemblance  to  the  Greek  y, 
the  hyoid,  or  u-Uke  bone.  This  member  serves,  by  its  firm  texture, 
as  a  gateway  from  the  trachea  and  larynx  to  the  mouth,  or  from  the 
latter  to  the  former.  It  forms  a  point  of  tension  for  the  muscles 
which  connect  the  larynx  with  the  mouth.  Its  hard  texture  enables 
it  to  perform  this  office  effectually,  and  thus  to  aid  in  giving  pitch  to 
rcxial  sounds. 


21G  APPENDIX. 

18.  The  tliyro-hyo'idean  membrane  connects  the  thyroid  cartilage 
with  the  instrument  just  described,  and  facilitates  the  functions  of 
both,  in  elevating  or  depressing  the  pitch  of  the  voice. 

19.  The  cricothyroid  ligament,  attaches,  as  its  name  implies,  the 
cricoid  to  the  thyroid  cartilage  ;  and  (20.)  the  crico-thyroid  muscle 
facilitates  their  consentaneous  movement,  in  the  production  of  vocal 
sound,  acute  or  grave. 

21.  The  pharynx,  or  swallow,  situated  immediately  behind  and 
above  the  larynx,  although  not  directly  concerned  in  the  production 
of  sound,  has,  —  by  resonant  space,  — a  great  effect  on  its  character. 
Persons  in  whom  this  organ  is  large,  have  usually  a  deep-toned 
voice  ;  those  in  whom  it  is  small,  have  comparatively  a  high  pitch. 
When  it  is  allowed  to  interfere  with  the  sound  of  the  voice,  through 
negligence  of  habit,  or  bad  taste,  it  causes  a  false  'and  disagreeable 
guttural  swell  in  the  quality  of  the  voice.1 

22.  The  nasal  passages.  Through  these  channels  the  breath  is 
inhaled  in  the  usual  tranquil  function  of  breathing.  The  innermost 
part  of  the  nostrils  is  united  into  one  resonant  channel,  and  opens 
into  the  back  part  of  the  mouth,  behind  the  "  veil,"  or  pendent  and 
movable  part,  of  the  palate,  which  serves  as  a  curtain  to  part  the 
nasal  arch  from  the  anterior  portion  of  the  mouth. 

23.  The  internal  lubes  of  the  ears.  Above  the  valve  of  the  orifice 
of  the  windpipe,  on  each  side  of  the  root  of  the  tongue,  is  a  small 
opening,  leading  to  a  tube  which  communicates  with  the  ear,  and 
whose  orifice  is  always  opened,  in  the  act  of  opening  the  mouth. 
These  tubes  have  a  great  effect  in  rendering  vocal  tone  clear  and 
free  ;  as  is  perceived  in  the  case  of  obstructions  arising  from  disease, 
from  accident,  or  from  cold,  which  impart  a  dull  and  muffled  sound 
to  the  voice.  "  The  ear,"  says  an  eminent  writer  on  this  subject, 
"  being  formed  of  very  hard  bone,  and  containing  the  sonorous  mem- 
brane of  the  drum,  the  sound  of  the  voice  entering  it,  through  the  air- 
tubes,  must  necessarily  be  increased  by  its  passage  along  what  may 
be  termed  the  whispering  galleries  of  the  ear." 

The  effect  of  these  passages,  as  conductors  of  vocal  sound,  may 
be  traced  in  the  fact,  that  the  middle  and  innermost  parts  of  the  nos- 
trils, open  into  several  hollows,  or  cells,  in  the  adjacent  bones  of  the 
face  and  forehead.  By  this  arrangement,  the  whole  cavity  of  the 
head  is  rendered  subservient  to  the  resonance  of  the  voice.  That 
degree  of  clear,  ringing,  bell-like  sound,  which  is  so  obvious  a  beauty 
of  the  human  voice,  seems  to  be  dependent  on  this  circumstance. 
Hence,  too,  the  stifled  tone  caused  by  obstruction  arising  from  cold, 
from  accident,  from  the  deleterious  effect  of  snuff-taking,  or  from  mal- 
formation of  organic  parts. 

The  fault  of  utterance  which  is  termed  nasal  tone,  arises  from  low- 
ering too  far  the  veil  of  the  palate,  —  the  membrane  which  separates 
the  mouth  from  the  nasal  passages,  and  raising  too  high  the  root  of 
the  tongue,  in  producing  a  vocal  sound.     The  consequence  of  these 

i  For  a  full  and  highly  instructive  statement  of  the  effect  of  the  pharynx  on 
utterance,  sec  a  "Treatise  on  the  Diseases  and  Hygiene  of  the  Organs  of  the 
Voice,  by  Colombat  de  Tlsere."  Translated  by  Dr.  J.  F.  W.  Lane,  and  pub- 
lished by  Otis,  Broaders,  &  Co.,  Boston. 


ORGANS    OF    VOICE.  217 

errors,  is  that  an  undue  proportion  of  breath  is  forced  against  the 
nasal  passages,  and  that  these  organs  are  at  once  overcharged,  and 
obstructed.  Hence,  the  twanging  and  false  resonance  which  consti- 
tutes "  nasal "  tone. 

24.  The  cavity,  and,  more  particularly  (25)  the  roof,  or  ridgy 
arch,  of  the  mouth,  —  in  the  anterior  part  of  it,  —  together  with  (26) 
the  palate,  and  (27)  the  veil,  or  pendent  and  movable  part  of  the 
palate,  and  (28)  the  uvula,  or  the  terminating  tag  of  the  veil  of  th3 
palate,  in  the  back  part  of  the  mouth,  as  well  as  (29)  the  upper  gunr. 
and  (30)  the  teeth,  in  the  fore  part  of  it,  all  serve  important  purposes 
in  modifying  the  sound  of  the  voice,  and  aiding  the  function  of 
speech. 

The  most  satisfactory  mode  of  forming  a  correct  idea  of  these 
organs,  is,  to  inspect  the  interior  of  the  mouth,  by  the  use  of  a  look- 
ing-glass. In  this  way,  the  position  and  action  of  all  these  parts,  in 
the  function  of  speech,  may  be  distinctly  observed. 

The  mouth,  by  its  arched  structure,  exerts  a  great  influence  in 
moulding  the  sound  of  the  voice.  It  serves  at  once  to  give  it  scope, 
and  partial  reverberation.  It  gives  sweetness  and  smoothness  to 
tone ;  as  we  perceive  in  contrasting  the  voice  duly  modified  by  it, 
with  that  which  loses  its  softening  effect,  in  undue  nasal  ring,  or  gut- 
tural suffocation. 

To  give  the  voice  the  full  effect  of  round,  smooth,  and  agreeable 
tone,  the  free  use  of  the  cavity  of  the  mouth,  is  indispensable :  the 
whole  mouth  must  be  thrown  open,  by  the  unimpeded  action  and 
movement  of  the  lower  jaw.  A  smothered,  imperfect,  and  lifeless 
utterance,  is  the  necessary  consequence  of  restraint  in  the  play  of  this 
most  effective  implement  of  speech.  A  liberal  opening  of  the  mouth, 
is  the  only  condition  on  which  a  free  and  effective  utterance  can  be 
produced. 

30.  The  teeth.  These  instruments,  by  their  hard  and  sonorous 
texture,  serve  to  compact  and  define  the  volume  of  the  voice,  while 
they  aid  one  of  the  important  purposes  of  distinct  articulation,  in  the 
function  of  speech.  Used  with  exact  adaptation  to  their  office,  they 
give  a  clear  and  distinct  character  to  enunciation ;  but  remissly 
exerted,  they  cause  a  coarse  hissing,  resembling  the  sibilation  of  the 
Inferior  animals. 

31.  The  tongue.  The  various  positions  and  movements  of  this 
wgan,  are  the  chief  means  of  reudering  vocal  sound  articulate,  and 
thus  converting  it  into  speech.  They  exert,  at  the  same  time,  a 
powerful  influence  on  the  quality  of  the  voice,  by  contracting  or 
enlarging  the  cavity  of  the  mouth,  and  giving  direction  to  voca. 
scund  :  it  is  the  position  and  action  of  the  root  of  the  tongue,  which 
render  the  voice  guttural,  nasal,  or  oral,  in  its  effect  on  the  ear. 

S2.  The  lips.  These  important  aids  to  articulation,  not  only  give 
distinctness  to  utterance,  but  fulness  of  effect  to  the  sounds  of  the 
voice.  Imperfectly  used,  they  produce  an  obscure  mumbling,  instead 
of  definite  enunciation  ;  and,  too  slightly  parted,  they  confine  the  voice 
within  the  mouth  and  throat,  instead  of  giving  it  free  egress  and 
emissive  force.  In  vigorous  speech,  rightly  executed,  the  lips  are 
slightly  rounaed,  and  even  partially,  though  not  boldly,  projected. 

JL «/ 


218  APPENDIX. 

They  thus  hecome  most  effective  aids  to  the  definite  piojectiort  and 
conveyance  of  vocal  sound  :  they  emit  the  voice  well  moulded,  and 
as  it  were,  exactly  aimed  at  the  ear. 

Figures  33  and  34  are  intended  to  exhibit  the  effect  of  the  epiglot- 
tis on  the  character  of  vocal  sound.  —  When  the  voice  is  thrown  out 
with  abruptness,  or  even  with  a  clear,  decided  force  and  character  of 
sound,  there  is  first  a  momentary  occlusion  of  the  glottis,  attended,  in 
impassioned  utterance,  by  the  downward  pressure  of  the  epiglottis, 
(the  lid  of  the  glottis,)  as  in  the  act  of  swallowing  :  see  figure  33.  To 
this  preparatory  rallying  of  the  muscular  apparatus,  and  its  accom- 
panying effect  of  resistance, — the  natural  preliminary  to  a  powerful 
and  sudden  effort,  —  succeeds  an  abrupt  and  instantaneous  explosion 
of  breath  and  sound,  produced  by  the  sudden  upward  impulse  of  the 
abdominal  muscles  and  the  diaphragm,  acting  on  the  pleura,  and  the 
air-cells  of  the  lungs,  and  forcing  the  breath  upward,  through  the 
Dronchi  and  the  trachea,  to  the  larynx.  The  breath,  thus  impelled, 
bursts  forth,  parting,  in  the  act,  the  glottis  from  the  epiglottis,  (34,) 
and  issues  from  the  mouth,  in  the  form  of  vocal  sound. 

Such  is  the  history  of  the  function  of  vocal  explosion,  —  the  insep- 
arable characteristic  of  all  impassioned  utterance,  and,  in  greater  or 
less  degree,  accompanying  all  vivid  expression,  and  all  distinct  artic- 
ulation. 

ADDITIONAL  BREATHING   EXERCISES. 
Sighing. 

The  following  exercises  may  be  practised  in  addition  to  those 
which  are  prescribed  at  the  beginning  of  this  volume. 

Sighing,  as  a  natural  effort,  designed  to  relieve  the  lungs  and 
accelerate  the  circulation,  when  depressing  emotions  or  organic  im- 
pediments cause  a  feeling  as  if  the  breath  were  pent  up,  consists  in  a 
sudden  and  large  inspiration  and  a  full,  strong,  effusive  expiration. 
In  vocal  training,  it  becomes  a  most  efficacious  means  of  free,  unem 
barrassed  respiration,  and,  consequently  of  organic  energy  and  of  full 
voice.  It  should  be  repeated  as  the  other  exercises,  and  practised 
both  through  the  nostrils  and  the  mouth ;  the  former  being  its  gentler, 
—  the  latter,  its  more  forcible  form.  It  should  be  practised,  also,  in 
the  tremulous  style  of  inspiration,  in  which  the  sigh  resembles  a 
series  of  prolonged  and  subdued  sobs. 

Sobbing. 

Sobbing,  as  an  instinctive  act,  consists  in  a  slightly  convulsive,  sub* 
duod  and  whispering  gasp,  by  which  an  instantaneous  supply  of 
breath  is  obtained,  when  the  stricture  caused  by  the  suffocating  effect 
of  grief,  would  otherwise  obstruct  or  suspend  too  long  the  function 
of  inspiration.  The  practice  of  the  sob  facilitates  the  habit  of  easy 
and  rapid  inspiration,  and  the  expression  of  pathetic  emotion- 

Gasping. 

Gasping  is  an  organic  act  corresponding  somewhat  to  sobbing,  bu 
much  more  violent,  as  belonging  to  the  expression  of  fierce  emotions. 


THE    "  SLIDE.'  219 

Its  effects  as  an  exercise,  in  disciplining  the  organs,  are  ^ery  power- 
ful, and  its  use  in  vehement  expression  in  dramatic  passages,  highly 
effective,  and,  indeed,  indispensable  to  natural  effect. 

Panting. 

Panting,  as  a  natural  act,  in  a  highly  excited  state  of  circulation, 
whether  caused  by  extreme  muscular  exertion,  or  by  intense  emotion, 
consists  in  sudden  and  violent  inspiration  and  expiration,  the  latter 
process  predominating  in  force  and  sound.  It  is  the  only  form  of 
respiration  practicable  in  high  organic  excitement.  The  practice  of 
panting  as  an  exercise,  imparts  energy  to  the  function  of  respiration, 
and  vigor  to  the  organs.  Its  effect  is  inseparable  from  the  expression 
of  ardor  and  intense  earnestness  in  emotion. 

ANALYSIS   OF   "SLIDES." 

Before  proceeding  to  the  study  of  the  other  forms  of  the  "  slide," 
it  will  be  an  important  aid  to  definite  ideas  and  appropriate  applica- 
tions of  those  which  have  been  exemplified,  to  pause  here,  and 
review  the  practice  of  the  forms  of  "  concrete  "  and  "  radical  pitch," 
on  elementary  sounds,  on  syllables,  and  words,  and  to  add  a  thorough 
and  extensive  course  of  practice  on  all  gradations  of  the  "  slide,"  but 
especially  its  three  chief  forms,  — the  "  third,"  "  fifth,"  and  "  oc- 
tave," both  upward  and  downward. 

The  following  diagram  may  be  used  as  an  ocular  suggestion,  to 
prompt  and  regulate  the  ear ;  each  character  being  intended  to  repre- 
sent the  sound  of  an  element,  syllable,  or  word.  The  exercise  com- 
mences with  a  slide  of  the  "  second,"  the  usual  interval,  in  "  con- 
crete pitch,"  between  the  "radical"  and  the  "  vanish"  of  an 
element,  —  as  uttered  in  the  common  progression  of  the  unemphatic 
and  inexpressive  "melody"  of  speech  or  reading,  —  and  extends 
through  all  other  intervals  to  that  of  the  "  nctave."  The  forms 
which  are  of  most  frequent  occurrence  in  reading,  are  repeated  sep- 
arately. 

The  bulb  of  each  character  in  the  diagram,  represents  the  "  radi- 
cal,"—  the  stem,  the  "  vanish." 

But  it  will  be  of  great  use,  as  a  matter  of  practice,  with  a  view  to 
facility  in  the  command  of  the  voice,  to  add  to  the  sound  of  the 
"  slide,"  the  effects  of  "  effusion,"  "  expulsion,"  and  "  explosion  ;" 
"radical,"  "median,"  "vanishing,"  "compound,"  "thorough 
Btress,"  and  "  tremor ;"  together  with  those  of  "  pure  tone,"  "  oro- 
tund," and  "aspiration;"  and  all  stages  of  force  from  the  softest 
"  subdued,"  to  that  of"  shouting." 

The  "slide"  being,  in  speech  and  reading,  the  only  means  of 
marking  to  the  ear  the  peculiar  character  of  many  emcitions,  and  the 
distinctions  of  thought  and  language,  as  well  as  the  relative  port  ons 
of  sentences  ;  the  frequent  practice  of  this  element  of  vocal  expres 
sion,  becomes  exceedingly  important.  Equally  so  is  a  discriminating 
and  appropriate  use  of  the  "  slide."  Speech  or  reading,  divested  of 
its  aid,  becomes  merely  mechanical,  unmeaning  articulation ;  as  we 
observe  the  fact  in  the  syllabic  reading  of  little  children. 


220  APPENDIX. 

I.    Scale  of  Progressive  "  Upward  and  Downward  Slides:"  from  Ihk 
"Second"  to  the  "  Octave."  l 

II.  "  Upward  Slide  "  of  the  "Second." 

»   .    ^ & ^       ^ ^ cy ^ •*      • 

III.  "  Upward  Slide  "  o/*Ae  "  Tliird." 

1        J         ^/         ^         J —     ®/         c^         f?         «/ 

IV.  "  Upward  S/irfe  "  of  the  "Fifth." 

Z  J  J  J  J  J  0  J        »      J 

V.  "  Upward  Slide  "  of  the  "  Octave." 

-  y    —$/      &      $       m      &      w       m       — 


VI.   Alternate  "Slides  "  of  the  "  Tliird." 


YII.   Alternate  "Slides  "  of  the  "Fifth." 

:   J    5  J    Vi/    °\  J    V= 

VIII.   Alternate  "Slides  "  of  the  "  Octave." 

^V  "\ ,/  \^^ 

*  The  lowest  "radical"  on  these  diagrams,  is  set,  for  convenience'  sake, 
m  E  cu  the  '« first  line  "  of  the  tenor  clef.     But,  to  avoid  the  disagrecabl* 


THE    "WAVE."  221 

The  unmeaning  style  so  often  and  justly  complained  of  in  school 
reading-,  and,  sometimes,  in  professional  performances,  is,  to  a  great 
extent,  owing  to  want  of  perception  in  regard  to  the  nature  and  effect 
of  the  "  slide  " 

Persons  who  know  what  an  expenditure  of  time  and  labor  is  requi- 
site, to  train  the  organs  to  clear  and  just  execution,  and  even  to  cor- 
rect intonation,  in  vocal  music,  will  not  be  surprised  at  the  extent  of 
piactice  suggested  in  this  department  of  elocution.  Nor  is  there  any 
branch  of  the  subject  in  which  close  application  and  persevering  prac- 
tice are  more  sure  of  an  ample  reward.  The  ability  to  read  arigiit 
the  plainest  passage  of  narrative,  descriptive,  or  didactic  writing,  is 
wholly  dependent  on  the  just  and  discriminating  use  of  the  "  slide." 

THE   "WAVE,"    OR    "  CIRCUMFLEX." 

One  of  the  natural  modes  of  "  expression,"  in  the  "  melody  of 
speech,"  is,  in  the  language  of  peculiar  emotion,  or  marked  distinc- 
tion, the  use  of  a  double  "  slide,"  the  upward  and  the  downward  oft 
the  same  sound.  This  mode  of  voice,  called  the  "  wave,"  is  the 
characteristic  utterance  of  sarcasm,  mockery,  raillery,  and  other 
intense  and  keen  emotions :  it  marks,  likewise,  the  expression  of 
humor,  irony,  and  wit,  and  pungent  antithesis,  whether  serious  or 
humorous.  In  its  lowest  perceptible  form,  it  aids  the  "  swell "  or 
"  median  stress"  of  solemn  and  sublime  feeling.  The  "  wave,"  like 
the  single  "  slide,"  exists  in  all  varieties  of  effect,  from  the  slightest 
undulation  of  solemnity,  in  the  interval  of  the  "second,"  (01  the 
"concrete"  downward  transition  from  one  note  of  the  scale  tc  the 
next  below,)  to  the  "  third,"  "  fifth,"  and  "  octave."  The  "  wave  " 
is  termed  "  direct,"  when  it  slides  first  upward  and  then  downward ; 
"  inverted,"  when  the  "  downward  slide  "  precedes,  and  the  "  up- 
ward "  follows.  It  is  termed  "  equal,"  when  the  "  slides  "  are  of 
equal  height  and  depth ;  the  upward  and  the  downward  being  each  a 
"  third,"  "  fifth,"  or  "  octave  :"  "  unequal,"  when  the  one  "  slide  " 
traverses  a  wider  interval  of  the  scale  than  the  other ;  the  upward, 
for  example,  being  a  "  third,"  and  the  downward,  an  "  octave."  — 
Grave  and  sedate  feeling,  or  the  affectation  of  such  feeling, 
inclines  to  the  use  of  the  "  equal  wave  ;"  keen  and  sarcastic  expres- 
sion prefers  the  "  unequal  wave,"  from  its  greater  pungency  to  the 
ear. 

This  element  of  expression,  is  one  of  the  most  impressive  in  the 
whole  range  of  vocal  effect.  It  gives,  in  its  subdued  form,  a  sus- 
tained dignity  and  grandeur  to  utterance,  without  which  the  long- 
drawn  sounds  of  solemnity,  would  sink  into  monotony  and  feebleness. 
Sarcastic  and  ironical  expression  cannot  be  given  without  it.  Close 
distinctions  of  sense  and  meajiing,  lose  their  point  and  discrimination, 

falsetto  of  E  in  the  "  fourth  space,"  in  some  male  voices,  it  may  he  arl visa- 
hie  to  pitch  the  lowest  radical,  in  execution,  on  C  on  the  fc  first  leger  line 
below. :»  This  change  will  cause  no  hiuderance  in  practice ;  as  the  inlet vals 
are  not  aflected  by  it,  and  the  slides,  consequently,  remain  the  same  rela 
tirely. 

19* 


222  APPENDIX. 

when  deprived  of  it.     Wit  and  humor  cease  to  exist  to  tne  ear,  if  tb 
ambiguous  and   equivocal,  or  graphic  effect  of  the  "  wave,"  la 
dropped. 

An  intelligent  and  discriminating  use  of  this  element,  is  indispen- 
sable, however,  to  its  right  effect.  Adopted  too  frequently,  and 
expressed  too  pointedly,  it  offends  the  ear ;  as  it  implies  a  want  of 
skill  on  the  part  of  the  reader  or  speaker,  and  a  want  of  perception 
on  that  of  the  hearer.  It  forms,  when  given  in  excess,  the  striking 
feature  in  overdone  emphasis,  or  that  which  seems,  by  its  obtrusive- 
ness,  to  forestall  the  judgment  of  the  person  who  is  addressed,  and 
compel  his  perceptions.  It  is  the  usual  resort  of  the  author  of  a  pun 
so  poor,  that,  without  his  syllabic  and  waving  enunciation,  you  could 
not  have  surmised  its  existence. 

The  "  wave  "  exists  sometimes,  as  a  mere  local  accident  of  usage, 
in  what  is  termed  national  accent.  The  dialects  of  Scotland  and  of 
New  England,  furnish  striking  examples  of  the  unmeaning  preva- 
lence of  the  "wave."  The  popular  "Yankee  story,"  and,  not 
unfrequently,  the  emphasis  of  well-educated  people,  abound  in 
instances  of  this  local  intonation. 

The  use  of  the  "wave"  should  be  carefully  practised,  in  the  spirit 
of  the  closest  analysis,  on  the  following  examples,  and,  in  its  princi- 
pal forms,  applied  to  "  tonic  "  elements,  long  syllables,  and  expres- 
sive words  and  phrases. 


EXAMPLES. 

1.  —  The  "Equal  Wave." 

Solemnity  and  Sublimity. 

(".bffusive  orotund :"  "  Subdued  "  force :  Full  and  prolonged  •*  medial 
swell:"  "Low  pitch:"  "Equal  wave  of  the  second."  The  "wave" 
so  slight  as  barely  to  be  discernible.) 

1. — From  the  Morning  Hymn.  —  Milton, 

"  His  l  praise,  ye  winds  that  from  four  quarters  blow, 
Breathe  soft  or  loud  ;  and  wove  your  tops,  ye  pines, 
With  every  plant,  in  sign  of  worship  wave !  " 

2.  —  From  ax  Evening  Hymn. — H.  31.  Williams. 

"  While  Thee  I  seek,  protecting  Power ! 

Be  my  vain  wishes  stilled ; 
And  may  this  consecrated  hour 

With  better  hopes  be  filled  !  " 

l  The  "  wave  "  occurs  on  the  letters  denoted  by  italic  type. 


THE    "WAVE."  223 

Pointed  Antithesis.     Serious  Expression. 

1. 

I 'Pure  tone:"   "Animated"   force:  "Radical  and  median  stress •■ 

"Middle  Pitch:"  "Equal  wave  of  the  third.") 

Moral  to  a  Fable. — Jane  Taylor. 

"  Let  any  man  resolve  to  do  right l  now  leaving  l  then  to 
do  as  it  can .  and  if  he  were  to  live  to  the  age  of  Methuselah, 
he  would  never  do  wrong. — But  the  common  error  is  to  re- 
solve to  act  right  after  breakfast,  or  after  dinner,  or  to-m6rrow 
morning,  or  next  time.  But  now,  just  now,  this  once,  we 
must  go  on  the  same  as  ever." 

2. 

("  Pure  tone  :"  "  Moderate  "  force,  "  grave  "  style  :  "  Median  stress :" 

"Middle  pitch:"  "Equal  wave  of  the  third.") 

Chance.  — Shakspeare. 

"  Alas  !  the  while  ! 
If  Hercules,  and  Lichias,  play  at  dice 
Which  is  the  better  man,  the  greater  thrSw 
May  turn  by  fortune  from  the  weaker  hand." 

Pointed  Antithesis.     Half-humorous  Style. 

3. 

("  P  ire  tone :"  "  Animated  "  force :  "  Median  stress :"  "  Middle  pitch :" 

"  Equal  wave  of  the  third.") 

Roman  citizen,  murmuring  against  the  Patricians. — Shakspeare. 

"  We  are  accounted  poor  citizens ;  the  patricians  good 
What  authority  surfeits  on,  would  relieve  us.  If  they  would 
yield  us  but  the  superfluity,  while  it  were  wh51esome,  we 
might  guess  they  relieved  us  humanely ;  but  they  think  we 
are  too  dear:  the  leanness  that  afflicts  vis,  the  object  of  our 
misery,  is  an  inventory  to  particularize  their  abundance :  our 
sufferance  is  a  gain  to  them. — Let  us  revenge  this  with  our 
pikes,  ere  we  become  rakes :  for  the  gods  know  I  speak  this 
in  hunger  for  bread,  not  in  thirst  for  revenge. 

1  The  "direct  wave"  is  marked  by  the  usual  circumflex  accent,  ths  "i» 
verted  wave,"  by  an  inverted  circumflex. 


224  APPENDIX. 

Wit. 

("Pare  tone,"  laughing  voice  :  "Radical  and  median  stres*      "  U'go 
pitch:"  "Equal  wave  i€  ±e  thirov') 

Beatrice,  speaking  of  Benedick. — Shakspeare. 

"  In  our  last  conflict,  four  of  his  five  wits  went  halting  of! ; 
and  now  is  the  whole  man  governed  with  one :  so  that  if 
he  have  wit  enough  to  keep  himself  warm,  let  him  bear  it  for 
a  difference  between  himself  and  his  horse  ;  for  it  is  all  the 
wit  that  he  hath  left,  to  be  known  a  reasonable  creature.1' 

Raillery. 

("Pure  tone:"  "Animated"  force  :  "Median  stress:"  "High  pitch: 
"Equal  wave  of  the  third.") 

Menenius,  to  TnE  Tribunes  Brutus  and  Sicinius. — Shakspeare 

"  You  blame  Marcius  for  being  proud  ? 

Brutus.   We  do  it  not  alone,  sir. 

Men.  I  know  you  can  do  very  little  alone ;  for  your  helps 
are  many ;  or  else  your  actions  would  grow  wondrous  sin- 
gle :  your  abilities  are  too  infant-like  for  doing  much  alone. 
You  talk  of  pride :  Oh !  that  you  could  turn  your  eyes 
towards  the  napes  of  your  necks,  and  make  but  an  inteiior 
survey  of  your  good  selves  ! " 

II.— -The  Unequal  Wave. 

Irony  and  Derision, 

("  Pure  tone :"  "  Animated  "  force  :  "  Stress  "  varying  from  "  radical " 
to  "median:"  "High  pitch:"  Unequal  wave  of  the  "third"  and 
"fifth.") 

The  Critic. — Sterne. 

"How  did  Garrick  speak  the  soliloquy,  last  night?"  —  "Oh! 
against  all  rule,  my  lord,  most  ungrammatically  !  Betwixt  the  sub- 
stantive and  the  adjective,  which  should  agree  together  in  number, 
case,  and  gender,  he  made  a  breach  thus  —  stopping,  as  if  the  point 
wanted  settling ;  and  betwixt  the  nominative  ease,  which,  your  lord- 
ship knows,  should  govern  the  verb,  he  suspended  his  voice  in  the 
epilogue,  a  dozen  times,  three  seconds  and  three  fifths  by  a  stop- 
watch, my  lord,  each  time."     "  Admr  dale  grammarian !  —  Bat,  in 


THE    "WAVE."  225 

susr>3itding  his  voics, —  was  the  sense  suspended  ?—  Did  no  expres- 
sion ci  attitude  or  countenance  fill  up  tlie  chasm  ?  —  Was  the  eye 
silent?  Did  you  narrowly  look?"  —  "I  looked  only  at  the  stop- 
watch, my  lord  !  "  —  "  Excellent  observer !  " 

Contempt  and  Derision, 

(   Aspirated    quality :"    "  Impassioned "    force:    "Median    stress 
"  High  pitch :"  u  Unequal  waves.") 

KlRVAL,   IN  THE    OUARKEL   WITH   GLENALVON. — Home. 

"  And  who  is  Norval  in  Glenalvon's  eyes  ? 

Glenalvon.    A  peasant's  son,  [3.  &  5.]  l  a  wandering  leg  gar 
hoy !  [3.  &  8.] 

[3.  &  5.]     At  best  no  more, — even  if  he  speaks  the  truth. 
[3.  &  5.] 

[5.  &  3.]     "  Hear  him,  my  lord :  he  's  wondrous  condescend- 
ing!   [5.  &3.] 
Mark  the  humility  of  shepherd  Norval!"  [3.  & 
8.] 

Scorn  and  Derision. 

r" Aspirated  pectoral  and  guttural  quality:"  "Impassioned"  force: 
"  Vanishing  stress  :"  u  High  pitch  :"  "  Unequal  wave.") 

CORIOLANUS,  TO  THE  SENATORS,  WHEN  HIS  ELECTION  TO  THE  CONSULATE 
IS  CONTRAVENED  BY  THE  TRIBUNES  BRUTUS  AND  SlCINIUS  ;  THE  LAT- 
TER HAVING  USED   THE    WORD    "  SHALL "    IN    HIS   VETO. — ShakspearC. 

"  Shall !     ["  semitone  and  octave."] 
They  chose  their  magistrate  ; 
And  such  a  one  as  he,  who  puts  his  shall,  [as  before.] 
His  popular  shall,  against  a  graver  bench,  [as  before.] 
Than  ever  frowned  in  Greece ! " 

THE   "  MONOTONE. " 

This  designation,  like  many  others  used  in  the  technical  language 
cf  elocution,  is  not  strictly  applicable  to  the  fact  of  voice  which  it  ia 

i  The  figures  indicate  the  "unequal  wave  of  the  "third"  and  "fifth,"  &c 
In  these  exemplifications  it  is  not  intended  that  either  a  weaker  or  a  strongei 
*{  expression,"  an  inferor  or  a  greater  "  wave,"  may  not  be  appropriately  used 
if  it  be  not  out  of  proportion  to  the  context.  In  the  strongei  expressions 
there  mi°ht  even  be  a  prolonged  and  repeated,  or  " double "  "wave,"  ii 
highly  animated  reading. 


226  APPENDIX. 

used  to  denote.  The  word  "  monotone  "  should  impoit  a  a.ria  mv* 
sical  sameness  of  sound ;  but,  in  actual  usage,  it  applies,  rather,  to 
successive  repetitions  of  the  same  "  radical  "  and  "  concrete  pitch, " 
in  the  common  form  of  the  latter,  as  in  the  "  radical  "  and  "  vanish  " 
of  unimpassioned  or  inexpressive  utterance. 

Two  causes  have  contributed  to  the  license  of  language,  in  tl  e 
vague  use  of  this  term :  first,  the  fact  that  what  is  termed  monotone, 
as  differing  from  mere  monotony,  (the  one  being  an  intentional  and 
impressive  effect ;  the  other,  an  accidental  fault  of  the  ear  and  habit,) 
is,  usually,  the  utterance  of  a  long,  and  even  protracted,  vowel  sound, 
with  a  peculiarly  full  "  median  stress,"  which  absorbs  the  attention, 
and  occupies  the  ear,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  differential  sounds  of  the 
"  radical "  and  the  "  vanish."  The  style  in  "  monotone  "  approaches 
comparatively  near  to  that  of  music,  as  contradistinguished  from 
speech  by  more  or  less  of  the  "  swell."  Hence  the  middle  point  of 
each  sound  will  be  most  impressive  to  the  ear,  and  obliterate  the 
effect  of  the  extremes.  An  apparent  absolute  monotone,  is  thus  pro- 
duced.—  Another  cause  of  error  in  the  designation  of  "  monotone," 
is  the  effect  of  the  close  and  frequent  recurrence  of  apparently  the 
same  note,  in  the  repetition  of  the  same  "radical"  and  "concrete 
pitch,"  on  successive  words;  as  what  is  termed  "monotone''  is 
usually  a  partial  sameness  of  voice  on  several,  or  on  many  words,  in 
succession. 

The  term  "  monotone,"  then,  when  used  in  the  language  of  elocu- 
tion, must  be  understood  as  conventional,  and  employed  merely  to 
avoid  circumlocution.  It  implies  the  successive  repetition  of  the 
same  "radical"  and  "concrete"  pitch,  with  the  addition  of  a  full 
and  prolonged  "  median  stress,"  so  executed  as  to  occupy  the  ear  to 
the  exclusion,  nearly,  of  the  "  radical "  and  "  vanish  "  of  the  sounds 
to  which  it  is  applied.  The  partial  sameness  of  voice,  thus  produced, 
has  been,  not  inaptly  compared,  as  mentioned  before,  to  the  repeated 
sounds  of  a  deep-toned  bell;  as  the  "monotone"  is  usually  the 
expression  of  low-pitched,  solemn  utterance,  analogous  in  effect,  to 
the  bell's  perpetually  recurring  low  note.  The  "  monotone  "  is,  in 
the  true,  natural,  and  unstudied  use  of  the  voice,  —  the  invariable 
standard  of  elocution,  —  the  style  of  awe,  reverence,  solemnity,  sub- 
limity, grandeur,  majesty,  power,  splendor,  and  all  other  modes  of 
feeling  which  imply  vastness  and  force,  particularly  when  associated 
with  the  idea  of  supernatural  influence  or  agency.  It  expresses, 
also,  the  feelings  of  amazement,  terror,  and  horror,  or  whatevei 
emotion  arises  from  the  contemplation  of  preternatural  effects. 

The  reason  why  this  peculiar  form  of  utterance  is  associated  with 
the  extremes  of  emotion,  seems  to  be  the  same  that  we  observe  when 
we  hear  a  person  who  has  been  an  eye-witness  of  an  awful  event, 
relating  what  he  has  seen :  the  excess  of  feeling  denies  him  the 
power  of  varied  utterance;  and  his  perpetually  low,  husky  cote* 


THE    "  MONOTONE."  227 

which  seenjs  to  come  from  the  depths  of  his  inmost  frame,  thrills 
the  hearer  with  a  feeling  from  which  a  varied  intonation  would 
be  an  instantaneous  relief.  The  same  principle  divested  of  the 
associations  of  horror,  applies,  in  degree,  to  scenes  and  objects 
of  overpowering  majesty  and  splendor.  The  impression  is,  in  such 
instances,  too  powerful  to  allow  the  varied  and  free  play  of  ordinary 
utterance. 

The  "  monotone,"  therefore,  as  the  indication  of  vastness  and 
pa  v^er,  pervades  the  style  of  all  the  noblest  and  most  impressive 
forms  of  human  language  in  poetry,  and,  not  unfrequently,  in  prose 
of  a  high-wrought  style.  It  abounds,  particularly,  in  the  reading  of 
the  sacred  Scriptures  ;  and  it  is  indispensable  in  the  devotional  lan- 
guage of  hymns.  It  is  used  likewise  in  verse,  and  in  poetic  prose, 
for  melody  of  effect,  instead  of  the  "  downward  slide  of  complete 


The  "  monotone  "  does  not,  it  is  true,  occur  so  frequently  as  most 
other  modifications  of  voice.  But,  from  its  special  office,  it  acquires 
peculiar  importance.  Without  it,  the  tones  of  a  devotional  exercise, 
or  the  reading  of  many  parts  of  the  Scriptures,  are  unavoidably  asso- 
ciated with  irreverence,  or  utter  absence  of  appropriate  feeling.  The 
language  of  Milton  or  of  Young,,  becomes  parody  to  the  ear,  when 
divested  of  the  due  effect  of  this  impressive  element  of  voice. 

A  great  error,  however,  to  be  carefully  avoided  in  actual  reading 
and  speaking,  is  the  prevalent  use  of  this  mode  of  voice,  without  dis- 
tinction of  circumstances.  The  wearisome  sameness  of  school  read- 
ing, and  of  the  style  of  many  professional  speakers,  arises  from  the 
habitual  unintentional  use  of  this  element.  The  monotony  thus  pro- 
duced can  be  tolerated  only  in  a  law  paper,  a  state  document,  a  bill 
of  lading,  or  an  invoice,  in  the  reading  of  which,  the  mere  distinct 
enunciation  of  the  words,  is  deemed  sufficient.  In  other  circum- 
stances it  kills,  with  inevitable  certainty,  everything  like  feeling  or 
expression. 

The  student  of  elocution  will  derive  great  benefit,  in  his  practice 
on  "  monotone,"  from  a  repetition  of  the  elements  and  of  woids,  on 
the  recurring  identical  successive  "radical  and  concrete,"  with  full 
prolongation  and  ample  "  median  stress." 

The  following  examples  will  serve  to  suggest  others  of  similar 
character. 

EXAMPLES   OF   "  MONOTONE." 

Devotional  Awe  and  Reverence. 

("Effusive  orotund  quality:"  " Subdued"  force:  "Median  stress:7 

"Very  low  pitch.") 

[Extracts  from  the  Scriptures.] 

4  "  Holy !  holy !  holy !  Lord  God  of  Sabaoth !  " 

*  The  "  monotone  "  is  usually  distinguished  by  this  horizontal  mari. 


228  APPENDIX. 

"  Bless  the  Lord,  0  my  soul ;  and  all  that  is  within  roe,  bless  his 
holy  name !  " 

11  Unti  Thee  1  lift  up  mine  eyes,  6  Thou  that  dwellest  in  the 
heaiens!  " 

Awe,  Sublimity,  Majesty,  Power,  Horror. 

{"  Quality,"  force,  "  stress,"  and  pitch,   as  before.) 

*'  And  I  beheld  when  he  had  opened  the  sixth  seal,  and  lo  !  ther^ 
was  a  great  earthquake.  And  the  sun  became  black  as  sackcloth  u 
hair,  and  the  moon  became  as  blood;  and  the  stars  of  heaven  fT.i 
unto  die  earth,  even  as  a  fig-tree  casteth  her  untimely  flgy,  whei 
she  n  shaken  of  a  mighty  wind.  *And  the  heaven  departed  as  a 
scroll  when  it  is  rolled  together ;  and  every  mountain  and  island  were 
moved  out  of  their  places.  *And  the  kings  of  the  ea~th,  and  the 
great  men,  and  the  rich  men,  and  the  chief  captains,  and  the  mighty 
men,  and  every  bond-man,  and  every  free-man,  hid  themselves  in  Ce 
Jens  and  in  the  rocks  of  the  mountains ;  and  said  to  the  mountain 
and  rocks,  l '  Fall  on  us,  and  hide  us  from  the  face  of  Him  that  slt- 
teth  on  the  throne,  and  from  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb  :  1  for  the  ^real 
day  of  his  wrath  is  come  ;  and  who  shall  be  able  to  stand? '  " 

Amazement  and  Terror. 

("Aspirated  pectoral  quality :"  "  Suppressed  force :"  "Median  stiuss  •" 
"Very  low  pitch.") 

"  In  thoughts  from  the  visions  of  the  night,  when  deep  sleep  fTIl 
eth  on  m£n,  l  fear  came  upon  me  and  trembling,  which  made  Jul  ray 
bones  to  shake.  xThen  a  spirit  passed  before  my  face  ;  !the  hidr  of 
my  flesh  stood  up.  — It  stood  still ;  but  I  could  not  discern  thu  form 
thereof.  An  Image  was  before  mine  eyes ;  l  there  was  faience  ;  and 
I  heard  a  voice  saying,  J '  Shall  mortal  man  be  more  just  than  GCd? 
Shall  a  man  be  more  pure  than  his  Maker? '  " 

Majesty  and  Grandeur 

("  Orotund  quality :"   "  Moderate  "  force  :  "  Median  stress :"  <  Low 
pitch.") 

[Description  of  Satan.] — Milton. 

"  His  form  had  not  yet  lost 
All  her  original  brightness,  nor  appeared 

'  A  deeper  note  commences  at  each  of  the  places  thus  marked.  Th  *hol# 
passage  is  a  sraesession  of  "  monotones." 


THE  "monotone."  229 

Less  than  archangel  ruined,  and  the  excess 
Of  glory  obscured  ;  as  when  the  sun  new  ris«n 
Looks  through  the  horizontal  misty  air, 
Shorn  of  his  beams,  or  from  behind  the  moon 
In  dim  eclipse,  disastrous  twilight  sheds 
On  half  the  nations,  and  with  fear  of  change 
Perplexes  monarchs." 

Sublimity  and  Splendor. 

('  Orotund  quality :"   "Moderate"  force:   "Median  stress:"  "Lew 
pitch.") 

[Summer.]  — Thomson. 

11  But  yonder  comes  the  powerful  King  of  Day, 

Rejoicing  in  the  east.     The  lessening  cloud, 

The  kindling  azure,  and  the  mountain's  brow, 

Illumed  with  fluid  gold,  his  near  approach 

Betoken  glad.     Lo  !  now,  apparent  all, 

Aslant  the  dew-bright  earth,  and  colored  air, 

He  looks  in  boundless  majesty  abroad, 

And  sheds  the  shining  day,  that  burnished  plays 

On  rocks,  and  hills,  and  towers,  and  wandering  streams, 

High  gleaming  from  afar." 

Vaslncss,  Sublimity,  and  Solemnity, 

|'c Orotund  quality:"  "Impassioned"  force:  "Median  stress:"  "Lot* 
pitch.") 

[The  Ocean.J — Byron, 

"  Thou  glorious  mirror !    where  the  Almighty's  form 

Classes  itself  in  tempests  ;  in  all  time, 
Calm  or  convulsed,  —  in  breeze,  or  gale,  or  storm,-— 

Icing  the  pole,  or  in  the  torrid  clime 

Dark  heaving;  —  boundless,  endless,  and  sublime,- 
The  image  of  Eternity,  —  the  throne 

Of  the  Invisible  ;  even  from  out  thy  slime 
The  monsters  of  the  deep  are  made ;  each  zone 
Obeys  thee,  —  thou  go'st  forth,  dread,  fathomless,  alone  ! n 

"Poetic  Monotone." 

[The  "poetic  monotone"  is  properly,  the  distinctive  "second" 
which  gives  to  the  language  of  verse  or  of  poetic  prose,  when  not 
20 


230  APPENDIX. 

marked  by  emphatic  or  impassioned  force,  its  peculiar  melody,  as 
sontrasted  with  the  "  partial  cadence "  of  "  complete  sense  in 
clauses. "  The  two  faults  commonly  exemplified  in  passages  such 
as  the  following,  are,  1st,  that  of  terminating  a  clause  which  forms 
complete  sense,  with  a  "  partial  cadence,"  — 2d,  that  of  terminating 
it  with  the  upward  "  slide  "  of  the  "  third."  Both  these  errors  turn 
verse  into  prose,  or  render  poetic  language  in  prose,  dry  and  inex- 
pressive ;  as  both  these  modes  of  voice  are  the  appropriate  language 
of  fact,  and  not  of  feeling  or  melody.'] 

('•Turc  tone:"  " Subdued "  force  :  "Median  stress:"  "Higr.  pitch.") 

1.  —  [Music]  —Moore. 

"  For  mine  is  the  lay  that  lightly  floats, 
And  mine  are  the  murmuring  dying  notes, 
That  fall  as  soft  as  snow  on  the  sea, 
And  melt  in  the  heart  as  instantly." 

(/Ture  tone:"  "Subdued"  fcrx:  "  Median  stress:'  <  low  pitch.") 

2.  —  [Autumn  Scene.]  — Mellen. 

"  The  winds  of  autumn  came  over  the  woods. 
As  the  sun  stole  out  from  their  solitudes ; 
The  moss  was  white  on  the  maple's  trunk ; 
And  dead  from  its  arms  the  pale  vine  shrunk ; 
And  ripened  the  mellow  fruit  hung ;  and  red 
Were  the  tree's  withered  leaves  round  it  shed." 

i  <  Pure  tone :"  "  Moderate  "  force :  "  Median  stress :"  "  Low  pitch  ") 

3.  —  [The  Ocean  Depths.] — Percival. 

"  Deep  in  the  wave  is  a  coral  grove, 
Where  the  purple  mullet  and  gold-fish  rove, 
Where  the  sea-flower  spreads  its  leaves  of  blue, 
That  never  are  wet  with  falling  dew, 
But  in  bright  and  changeful  beauty  shine 
Far  down  in  the  green  and  glassy  brine." 

("  Quality,"  force,  "  stress,"  and  pitch,  as  before.) 

4.  —  [Nature.]  — Bryant. 

M  Still  shall  sweet  summer,  smiling,  linger  here, 
And  wasteful  winter  lightly  o'er  thee  pass ; 
Bright  dews  of  morning  jewel  thee,  and  all 
The  silent  stars  watch  over  thee  at  night  j 


THE  "semitone."  231 

The  mountains  clasp  thee  lovingly  within 
Their  giant  arms,  and  ever  round  thee  bow 
The  everlasting  forests." 

"Poetic  Monotone,"  in  Descriptive  Prose. 

("  Quality/'  &c,  as  before.) 

1. —  [Spring.]  — Anonymous. 

•*  In  the  calm  spring  evenings,  what, delightful  hours  the  cottager 
spends  in  his  little  garden!  —  He  is  not  without  a  feeling  —  unut- 
tered  though  it  be  —  of  the  sweetness  of  spring,  and  the  delights  of 
the  passing  hour ;  for,  as  the  shades  of  night  fall  darkly  on  the  scene, 
he  leans  upon  his  spade,  and  lingers  to  breathe  the  odorous  air,  to 
hear  the  faint  murmur  of  his  wearied  bees,  now  settling  peaceably  in 
their  hive  for  the  night,  and  the  glad  notes  of  birds,  dying  melodi- 
ously away  in  the  inner  woods.' ' 

("  Quality,"  &c,  as  before.) 

2.  —  [The  Chosen  Grave.]  — Anonymous. 

"  The  thought  is  sweet  to  lay  our  bones  within  the  bosom  of  our 
native  soil.  The  verdure  and  the  flowers  I  love,  will  brighten  around 
my  grave;  —  the  same  trees  whose  pleasant  murmurs  cheered  my 
living  ears,  will  hang  their  cool  shadows  over  my  dust ;  —  and  the 
eyes  that  met  mine  in  the  light  of  affection,  will  shed  tears  over  the 
sod  that  covers  me,  keeping  my  memory  green  within  their  spirits." 

11  SEMITONIC    OR     CHROMATIC    MELODY." 

The  uses  of  the  musical  scale,  which  occur,  either  in  the  natural 
and  accustomed  forms  of  speech,  or  the  exercise  of  reading,  have 
been,  thus  far  in  our  analysis,  of  the  character  termed  "  diatonic." 
That  is  to  say,  the  intervals,  or  the  transitions,  of  voice,  hitherto  dis- 
cussed in  this  volume,  have  all  been  such  as  extend  to  at  least  the 
interval  of  a  full  tone,  or  occupy  the  entire  space  necessarily  trav- 
ersed, in  passing  from  one  note  to  another,  at  the  relative  distance  of 
a  whole  tone.  The  term  "  diatonic  "  may  therefore  be  applied  to  all 
the  melodial  functions  of  voice  to  which  we  have  been  attending  ;  and 
the  "  diatonic  melody  "  of  a  sentence  may  be  briefly  thus  reviewed. 
—  In  the  simple  statement  of  fact  or  of  thought,  in  unimpassioned 
narration,  and  in  plain  definition  or  description,  the  "  current  mel- 
ody" of  a  sen te ice  will  consist  of,  1st,  the  usual  upward  "con- 
crete "  produced  by  the  "  radical  "  and  "  vanish  "  of  the  elements  of 
speech,  traversing  a  tone,  or  occupying  the  interval  of  a  "  second  ;" 
2d,  an  occasional  downward  "  concrete  "  of  the  "  second  ;"  3d,  the 
differential  "  radical  pitch,"  in  the  forms  of  upward  and  downward 


232  APPENDIX. 

ditone,"  "  tritone,"  and  "  alternate  phrase  ;"  4th,  the  termination 
of  the  "  sentential  melody  "  by  the  "  triad  of  the  cadence."  In  im 
passioned  narration,  description,  or  statement,  ''expression"  may 
demand,  instead  of  the  sedate  and  reserved  effect  of  such  "  melody," 
the  vivid  style  of  the  upward  and  downward  "  slides  "  of  the  "  third," 
the  "  fifth,"  the  "  octave  ;"  and,  in  extreme  emotion,  even  a  wider 
interval.  In  a  still  higher  stage  of  excitement,  the  "wave,"  or 
double  slide,  of  the  same  intervals,  may  be  requisite  ;  and,  in  ex- 
tremely deep  and  solemn  feeling,  the  prolonged  "  second,"  called 
"  monotone." 

This  enumeration  would  exhaust  the  chief  forms  of  "  diatonic  mel- 
ody;" as  the  intervals  of  the  "fourth,"  "sixth,"  and  "seventh," 
are  rarely  found  in  the  regulated  functions  of  speech  or  in  reading. 
Conscious  guilt,  shame,  and  cowardice,  will  be  found,  in  consequence 
of  their  agitated,  suppressed,  and  unhinged  utterance,  to  substitute, 
sometimes,  the  imperfect  effect  of  the  downward  "  second  "  for  the 
downward  "third,"  a  struggling  and  choking  upward  "  second  "  for 
an  upward  "third,"  —  the  "  fourth,"  in  the  same  style,  when  the 
voice  seems  aiming  at  a  "fifth,"  —  and  a  "  seventh  "  for  an  "oc- 
tave." The  ungovernable  voice  of  inebriety  sometimes  shoots  over 
the  "  third  "  into  the  "  fourth,"  and  so  of  the  other  intervals,  or  falls 
a  tone  short  of  its  aim,  through  untuned  ear,  and  organic  paralysis, 
so  as  to  give  the  peculiarly  dissonant  and  inharmonious  effect  of  its 
characteristic  utterance.  Boyhood,  in  its  wild  freaks  of  ungoverned 
feeling,  sometimes  delights  to  execute  these  anomalies  of  voice,  for 
sportive  effect. 

But  the  next  practically  important  stage  of  voice,  connected  with 
the  study  of  melody  as  a  branch  of  elocution,  is  that  which  is  exhib- 
ited in  the  use  of  the  "semitone,"  or  half  tone.  To  persons  to 
whom  the  technical  nomenclature  of  music  is  familiar,  it  would  be 
sufficient  to  say  that  we  have  now  to  do  with  the  "  chromatic  "  scale, 
or  that  which  ascends  and  descends  by  half  instead  of  whole  tones. 
Students  of  elocution  who  have  not  paid  attention  to  musical  terms, 
may  be  directed  to  the  interval  under  consideration  by  the  general 
statement  that  it  is  that  which  gives  to  any  sound,  vocal,  or  instru- 
mental, or  accidental,  (as  in  the  occasional  tones  of  the  wind,  or  of 
the  iEolian  harp,)  the  effect  which  is  universally  termed  "  plaintive." 

An  exact  idea  of  the  "  semitone,"  would  be  formed  by  thinking 
of  it  as  occupying  precisely  half  the  interval  of  the  usual  :<  concrete  " 
of  the  "  radical  "  and  "  vanish  "  of  the  "  second  "  upward  or  down* 
ward.  The  student  may  be  able  to  give  it  correct  exemplification  by 
attempting  to  utter  a  common  "  concrete,"  with  a  whining  or  plain- 
tive tone.  He  will  find  that,  in  this  case,  his  voice  glides  upward  or 
downward  in  a  style  barely  perceptible,  and  falling  obviously  short 
of  that  of  the  "  diatonic  concrete." 

The  voice  of  the  mother  condoling  with  her  grieving  child,  is  a 
vivid  natural  exemplification  of  the  effect  of"  semitone  ;"  as  is,  also, 
the  tone  of  sorrow  or  regret,  in  the  utterance  of  childhood.  Even  the 
manly  expression  of  grief,  takes  this  mode  of  utteiance,  especially  in 
the  language  of  dramatic  poetry,  in  passages  in  which  grief  is  not 
violent,  but  subdued,  in  its  tone.     The  excess  and  caricature  of  chif 


THE  "semitone."  233 

mode  of  voice,  occurs  in  the  whine  of  the  dispirited  child,  of  tho 
exhausted  invalid,  of  the  languishing  hypochondriac,  or  of  the 
pathetic  sentimentalist.  It  is  thrown  out  still  more  perceptibly  on 
the  ear,  in  the  child's  whimpering  approach  to  crying,  when  lie  is 
overcome  by  pain  or  apprehension.  The  extensive  range  of  circum- 
stances which  require  or  produce  the  "  semitone,"  may  he  distinctly 
apprehended,  if  we  pass,  at  once,  to  the  example  afforded  in  the  deep 
and  pecuJ;/3r  tones  of  penitence  or  contrition,  and  of  supplication, — 
feelings  in  the  true  and  just  utterance  of  which,  it  always  predomi- 
nates, and  which  cannot  be  expressed  to  the  ear  without  it 

The  "  semitone,"  or  "  chromatic  "  interval,  is  the  appropriate  ex- 
pressive note  of  all  pathetic  and  tender  emotion.  It  gives  utterance 
to  affectionate  sympathy,  commiseration,  compassion,  pity,  and  tender* 
ness.  It  is,  also,  the  characteristic  of  grief  and  sorrow  in  their  sub- 
dued  forms,  of  regret,  penitence,  contrition,  complaint,  condolence 
supplication,  and  entreaty. 

"  Chromatic"  is  a  term  borrowed  from  the  art  of  painting,  and 
transferred  to  that  of  music,  by  one  of  those  customary  licenses  of 
speech,  by  which  the  terms  of  one  art,  addressed  to  one  sense,  are 
transferred  to  another  art,  addressed  to  a  different  sense.  This  pro- 
ceeding in  language  is  owing,  in  most  instances,  to  comparative  pau- 
city of  appropriate  terms,  in  the  art  which  borrows  the  use  of  words. 
But  it  sometimes,  though  not  always,  produces  a  happy  effect,  in  the 
form  of  figurative  illustration,  and  facilitates  a  vivid  apprehension  of 
the  idea  to  which  a  borrowed  term  is  applied.  Thus,  the  word 
"  chromatic  "  was  originally  applied  to  the  painter's  scale  of  grada- 
tion in  colors,  when  these  are  arranged  not  for  contrast  but  gradual 
approximation  to  each  other.  Suppose,  for  example,  a  colored  scale 
of  degrees,  in  which  one  degree  should  be  yellow ;  the  next,  red ; 
the  next,  black.  The  colors  would,  in  this  case,  stand  forth  perfectly 
distinct  from  each  other  ;  as  the  tones  of  the  "  diatonic  "  scale  exist 
to  the  ear.  Suppose,  again,  a  scale  of  colors  divided  into  successive 
hall  degrees,  thus ;  passing  gradually  from  the  bright  to  the  dark 
tint,  through  intervening  hues,  —  yellow,  orange,  red,  brown,  black. 
We  should  now  have  a  softened  or  mitigated  transition  of  approxi- 
mated, or  half-blended,  tints  ;  the  effect  corresponding,  as  regards  the 
eye.  to  that  of  "  chromatic  "  or  "  semitonic  "  progression  of  note3  to 
the  ear. 

The  effect  of  the  "semitone"  extends  over  all  the  intervals, 
"  concrete  "  and  "  discrete,"  from  the  mere  "  radical  "  and  "  vanish  " 
up  to  the  "  octave,"  and  so  downward,  as  designated  in  the  "  diatonic  " 
scale.  But  the  "  octave  "  is  comparatively  seldom  used  in  the  semi- 
tonic  form.  The  principal  applications  of  the  "  semitone  "  are  found 
in  the  "  monotone,"  the  "  semitone"  proper,  the  "  third,"  and  the 
"  fifth."  The  "  chromatic  melody,"  takes  effect,  likewise,  in  all  the 
"phrases  of  sentential  melody,"  both  in  the  "current"  and  the 
closing  strains,  with  this  peculiar  exception,  that  the  change  by 

radical  pitch"  in  the  "chromatic  current,"  although  it  is  hi 
20=* 


234  APPENDIX. 

"  semitone,"  when  upward,  is  through  the  interval  of  a  "  tone,  > 
when  it  descends. 

The  importance  of  "  chromatic  melody,"  as  an  element  of  elocu- 
tion, will  be  at  once  perceived,  when  we  advert  to  the  fact  of  it* 
great  power  over  sympathy,  and  its  value,  as  an  instrument  of  effect, 
in  the  hands  of  the  orator,  the  reciter,  and  the  reader.  The  speaker 
who  relies  wholly  on  his  power  to  overawe,  to  arouse,  or  to  impel, 
will  always  be  found  unfit  for  the  treatment  of  all  subjects  which 
appeal  to  human  sympathy  and  tenderness.  The  orator  is  deficient 
in  power,  who  cannot  touch  and  soften,  and  melt  and  subdue :  ne  is 
incapable  of  exerting  the  easiest  and  surest  sway  over  the  heait. 
Genuine  pathos  is  "  the  gentle  hand,  that  leads  the  elephant  by  a 
hair." 

The  application  of  the  semitone,  as  an  implement  ol  vocal  effect, 
needs  peculiar  skill ;  as  the  least  approach  to  excess  in  its  use,  or  to 
artificial  aiming  at  its  object,  renders  a  reader  or  speaker  ridiculous. 
Some  readers,  however,  (and  the  number  is  large  among  young 
ladies,)  through  habitual  languor  or  feebleness,  allow  themselves  to 
fall  into  "  semitone,'1  as  a  habit  of  the  voice,  and  consequently  read, 
on  all  occasions,  with  a  gratuitous  pathos  of  tone  throughout,  and  in 
cadences,  more  particularly,  with  what  the  poet  terms  "  a  dying, 
dying  fall." 

A  thorough  command  of  pathetic  utterance,  needs  a  close  and  dis- 
criminating application  to  the  different  effects  of"  tone  "  and  "  semi- 
tone;"  and  every  student  of  elocution,  who  is  not  master  of  these 
distinctions,  should  practise  carefully  with  a  musician,  till  he  can 
execute,  with  perfect  and  instantaneous  precision,  all  the  applications 
of  the  "semitone"  as  it  affects  the  intervals  of  the  "semitone 
proper,"  and  of  the  "  third,"  and  "  fifth," — the  forms  in  which  it 
most  frequently  occurs  in  "  expression." 

The  practice  of  the  following  examples,  should  be  accompanied  by 
frequent  and  extensive  exercises  on  the  elements,  and  on  words  and 
phrases,  as  well  as  lines  and  sentences  of  appropriate  character.  Ad- 
ditional examples  may  be  found  by  referring  to  passages  quoted  under 
other  heads,  in  various  parts  of  this  manual,  for  the  purpose  of 
exemplifying  pathetic  and  tender  emotions,  in  the  various  particulars 
of"  quality,"  "  force,"  "  stress,"  "  pitch,"  &c. 

EXAMPLES    OF   "  SEMITONE." 

Affectionate  Sympathy. 

("Pure  tone:"  "Impassioned"  force:  "Vanishing  stress,"  md  l  ;re- 
mor :"  "High  pitch:"  "Semitone,"  throughout,  —  interval  cf  the 
"fifth.") 

Adam,  [to  Orlando.] — Shckspeare. 

"  What !  my  young  master?  — O  my  gentle  master! 
O  my  sweet  master !    O  you  memory 
Of  old  Sir  Rowland !  —  why,  what  make  you  here  ? 
Why  are  you  virtuous  ?     Why  do  people  love  you  I 


THE  "semitone."  235 

And  wherefore  are  you  gentle,  strong,  and  valian  ? 
Your  praise  is  come  too  swiftly  home  before  you. 
Oh !  what  a  world  is  this,  when  what  is  comely 
Envenoms  him  that  bears  it ! " 

0  Pure  tone:"  "Moderate"  force:  "Median  stress:"  "Middle pitch:" 
"  Semitone,"  throughout,  —  interval  of  the  "  third.") 

Orlando,  [to  Adam.] — Shakspeare. 

"  O  good  old  man !  how  well  in  thee  appears 
The  constant  service  of  the  antique  world, 
When  service  sweat  for  duty,  not  for  meed !  — 

11  But  poor  old  man  !  thou  prun'st  a  rotten  tree, 
That  cannot  so  much  as  a  blossom  yield, 
In  lieu  of  all  thy  pains  and  husbandry !  " 

Commiseration, 

("  Pure  tone :"  "  Impassioned  "  force :  "  Vanishing  stress,"  and  "  trc~ 
mor :"  Weeping  utterance :  "  Semitone  proper,"  throughout ;  and 
occasional  "  chromatic  thirds  "  and  "  fifths.") 

CoBDELIA,    [WATCHING   OVER   nER   FATHER,    AFTER   HIS    EXPOSURE   TO    TH1 

tempest.]  — Shakspeare. 

"  0  my  dear  father !  —  Restoration,  hang 
Thy  medicine  on  my  lips ;  and  let  this  kiss 
Repair  those  violent  harms,  that  my  two  sisters 
Have  in  thy  reverence  made  ! 

"  Had  you  not  been  their  father,  these  white  flakes 
Had  challenged  pity  of  them.     Was  this  a  face 
To  be  exposed  against  the  warring  winds  1 
To  stand  against  the  deep,  dread-bolted  thunder? 
In  the  most  terrible  and  nimble  stroke 
Of  quick,  cross  lightning?  —  to  watch,  (poor  perdu,) 
With  this  thin  helm  !     Mine  enemy's  dog, 
Though  he  had  bit  me,  should  have  stood  that  night 
Against  my  fire  ;  And  wast  thou  fain,  poor  father, 
To  hovel  thee  with  swine,  and  rogues  forlorn, 
In  short  and  musty  straw  1     Alack,  alack ! 
*T  is  wonder  that  thy  life  and  wits,  at  once, 
Had  not  concluded  all !  " 


236  APPENDIX. 

Compassion. 

("  Pure  one  :"  "  Subdued  "  force  :  "  Median  stress :    «  Middle  luVh 
'  Semitone  proper,''  and  "chromatic  third,"  prevalent. 

Brutus    [on  the  night  befoee  the  battle  of  PniLirri,  to  the  bo? 
Lucius,  his  attendant.]  — Shakspeare. 

"  Bear  with  me,  good  boy,  I  am  much  forgetful. 
Canst  thou  hold  up  thy  heavy  eyes  awhile, 
And  touch  thy  instrument  a  strain  or  two  1 
I  trouble  thee  too  much  ;  but  thou  art  willing. 
I  should  not  urge  thy  duty  past  thy  might, 
I  know  young  bloods  lack  for  a  time  of  rest. 
1  will  not  hold  thee  long :  if  I  do  live, 
1  will  be  good  to  thee.     [Lucius  plays  and  sings.] 

" This  is  a  sleepy  tune  :  —  O  muiderous  Slumber! 
Lay'st  thou  thy  leaden  mace  upon  my  boy, 
That  plays  thee  music ?  —  Gentle  knave,  good  night! 
I  will  not  do  thee  so  much  wrong  to  wake  thee. 
If  thou  dost  nod,  thou  break'st  thy  instrument : 
I  '11  take  it  from  thee  ;  and,  good  boy,  good  night !  " 

Pity  and  Tenderness, 

f "  Pure  tone :"  "  Subdued  "  force :  "  Median  "  and  "  Vanishing  stress : 
"  High  pitch :"  "  Semitone  proper,"  and  "  chromatic  fifth,"  through 
out.) 

Miranda,  [to  Ferdinand,  when  he  is  undergoing  the  task  of  car- 
rying  AND   PILING   LOGS,  AT   THE   COMMAND   OF   HER  FATHER.] Shttkt 

pe  ire. 

"  Alas!  now,  pray  you, 
Work  not  sc  hard  :  I  would  the  lightning  had 
Burned  up  those  logs,  that  you  are  enjoined  to  pile ! 
Pray,  set  it  down  and  rest  you  :  when  this  burns, 
*T  will  weep  for  having  wearied  you.     My  father 
Is  hard  at  study,  —  pray  now,  rest  yourself: 
lie  's  safe  for  these  three  hours. 

"  If  you'll  sit  down, 
I  '11  bear  your  logs  the  while :  pray,  give  me  that,— 
I  '11  carry  it  to  the  pile  'M 


THE    i(  SEMITONE."  237 

Feminine  Grief  and  Sorrow. 

(**£ttre  ione  :"  "Subdued"  force :  "Median  stress:"  "High  pitch :" 
"Semitone,"  throughout,  and  occasional  "chromatic  third  " 

[Death  of  a  child  at   sea.]  — Anonymous. 

My  boy  refused  his  food,  forgot  to  play, 
And  sickened  on  the  water,  day  by  day ; 
lie  smiled  more  seldom  on  his  mother's  smile ; 
He  prattled  less,  in  accents  void  of  guile, 
Of  that  wild  land,  beyond  the  golden  wave. 
Where  I,  not  he,  was  doomed  to  be  a  slave ; 
Cold  o'er  his  limbs  the  listless  languor  grew ;  , 
Paleness  came  o'er  his  eye  of  placid  blue, — 
Pale  mourned  the  lily  where  the  rose  had  died ; 
And  timid,  trembling,  came  he  to  my  side.  — 
He  was  my  all  on  earth.     Oh  !  who  can  speak 
The  anxious  mother's  too  prophetic  woe, 
Who  sees  death  feeding  on  her  dear  child's  cheek, 
And  strives,  in  vain,  to  think  it  is  not  so? 
Ah !  many  a  sad  and  sleepless  night  I  passed, 
O'er  his  couch,  listening  in  the  pausing  blast, 
While  on  his  brow,  more  sad  from  hour  to  hour, 
Drooped  wan  dejection  like  a  fading  flower!  " 

Manly  Grief  and  Sadness. 

("Effusive  orotund:"  "Subdued"  force:   "Median  stress:'  "Low 
pitch:"  "Semitone"  prevalent,  with  occasional  "chromatic  third.") 

[The  exile  of  the  "  Forest  Saxctuakv,"  recalling  his  wife's  ves- 
per nvMN  at  sea.]  — Mrs.  Ilemans. 

"  Thy  sad,  sweet  hymn,  at  eve,  the  seas  along,— 
Oh  !  the  deep  soul  it  breathed !  —  the  love,  the  woe, 

The  fervor,  poured  in  that  full  gush  of  song, 
As  it  went  floating  through  the  fiery  glow 

Of  the  rich  sunset !  — bringing  thoughts  of  Spain, 

With  all  her  vesper  voices,  o'er  the  main, 

Which  seemed  responsive  in  its  murmuring  flow.  — 

lAve  sanctissima  ! '  —  how  oft  that  lay 

Hath  melted  from  my  heart  the  martyr  strength  away  ! 

f  Ora  pro  nobis,  mater  ! '  —  What  a  spell 
Was  in  those  uotes,  with  day's  last  glory  dying 


238  APPENDIX. 

On  the  flushed  waters  .  —  seemed  they  not  to  swell 

From  the  far  dust  wherein  my  sires  were  lying, 
With  crucifix  and  sword?  —  Oh  !  yet  how  clear 
Comes  their  reproachful  sweetness  to  mine  ear  !  — 
1  Ora  ! '  —  with  all  the  purple  waves  replying,  — 
All  my  youth's  visions  rising  in  the  strain  ;  — 
And  I  had  thought  it  much  to  bear  the  rack  and  chain !  " 

Regret,  Penitence,  Contrition. 

;"I*ure  tone:"  "Subdued"  force:  "Vanishing"  stress:  "Low  pitch: 
"  Semitone,"  throughout,  with  occasional  "  chromatic  third.") 

[Reflections  and  resolve  of  the   Prodigal  Son.] 

1  How  many  hired  servants  of  my  father's  have  bread  enough  and 
to  spare,  and  I  perish  with  hunger!  I  will  arise  and  go  to  my 
father,  and  will  say  unto  him,  Father,  I  have  sinned  against  heaven 
and  before  thee,  and  am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called  thy  son :  make 
me  as  one  of  thy  hired  servants !  " 

Complaint, 

("Aspirated  pectoral  quality:"  "Impassioned"  force:  "Vanishing 
stress:"  "Low  pitch:"  "Semitone"  throughout,  with  occasional 
"chromatic  third"  and  "fifth.") 

[Lamentation  of  Job.] 

M  And  now  my  soul  is  poured  out  upon  me  ;  the  days  of  affliction 
have  taken  hold  upon  me.  My  bones  are  pierced  in  me,  in  the  night 
season :  and  my  sinews  take  no  rest.  —  He  hath  cast  me  into  the 
mire ;  and  I  am  become  like  dust  and  ashes.  I  cry  unto  thee,  and 
thou  dost  not  hear  me :  I  stand  up,  and  thou  regardest  me  not. 
Thou  art  become  cruel  to  me  :  with  thy  strong  hand  thou  opposest 
thvself  against  me.  Thou  liftest  me  up  to  the  wind ;  thou  causest 
me  to  ride  upon  it,  and  dissolvest  my  substance.  For  I  know  that 
thou  wilt  bring  me  to  death,  and  to  the  house  appointed  for  all 
living  ! " 

Condolence. 

("Pure  tone:"  "Subdued"  force:  Gentle  "vanishing  stress:"  "Mid- 
dle pitch:"  "Semitone,"  throughout,  with  occasional  "chromatic 
third"  and  "f*Lh." 

[Cromwell,  to  Wolsey  on  his  downfall.] — Shakspcan. 
"  O  my  lord, 
Must  I  then  leave  you  ?   must  I  needs  forego 


THE    •'SEMITONE."  239 

So  good,  so  noble,  and  so  true  a  master? 
Bear  witness,  all  that  have  not  hearts  of  iron, 
With  what  a  sorrow  Cromwell  leaves  his  lord.  — 
The  king  shall  have  my  service  ;  but  my  prayers 
Forever  and  forever  shall  be  yours !  " 

Pathetic  Supplication  and  Intercession. 

f  Effusive  orotund:"  "Subdued"  force:  "  Median  stress :"  "Low 
pitch  :"  "  Semitone,"  throughout,  with  occasional  "chromatic  third.") 

i  —  [Kmo  Henry  VI.  at  the  death-bed  of  Cardinal  Beaufort. |  — 

Shakspeare. 

••  O  Thou  eternal  mover  of  the  heavens, 
Look  with  a  gentle  eye  upon  this  wretch ! 
Oh !  beat  away  the  busy,  meddling  fiend,     r 
That  lays  strong  siege  unto  this  wretch's  soul ; 
And  from  his  bosom  purge  this  black  despair !  " 

Penitential  Supplication  and  Entreaty. 

;"Pure  tone,  pectoral  quality:"  "Subdued"  force:  Soft,  but  earnest 
"vanishing  stress:"  "Very  low  pitch:"  "Semitone,"  throughout, 
with  occasional  "  chromatic  third  "  and  "  fifth.") 

[The  Psalmist's  self-humiliation  and  contrition.] 

"  Have  mercy  upon  me,  0  God,  according  to  thy  loving  kindness  : 
according  unto  the  multitude  of  thy  tender  mercies,  blot  out  my 
transgressions  !  Wash  me  thoroughly  from  mine  iniquity  and  cleanse 
me  from  my  sin.  For  I  acknowledge  my  transgressions ;  and  my 
sin  is  ever  before  me.  Against  thee,  thee  only,  have  I  sinned,  and 
done  this  evil  in  thy  sight.  Hide  thy  face  from  my  sbs,  and  blot 
out  all  mine  iniquities !  Deliver  me  from  blood-guiltiness,  O  God 
thou  God  of  my  salvation  !  " 


CULTIVATION   OF  PURE   TONE. 

[Our  desire  to  render  this  manual  conducive,  as  far  as  possible,  to 
perfect  development  of  the  voice,  induced  us  to  solicit  the  aid  aiia 
jng  from  the  perfect  discipline  to  which  the  organs  are  subjected,  in 
the  elementary  practice  of  the  art  of  music.  Professor  G.  J.  Webb, 
of  the  Boston  Academy  of  Music,  has,  in  compliance  with  oui 
request,  furnished  the  following  directions  for  the  cultivation  ef  per 


240 


APPENDIX. 


feet  purity  of  tone,  the  want  of  which,  in  elocution,  is  a  prevalent 
fault,  both  in  public  speaking  and  private  reading.] 

It  is  important  that  the  pupil,  at  the  very  outset  of  vocal  study, 
should  have  the  ability  of  appreciating  purity  of  tone.  Unless  he 
has  some  distinct  perception  of  it ;  in  other  words,  unless  a  model  of 
pure  tone  has  been  formed  in  his  own  mind,  all  merely  physical 
effort  to  acquire  it  will  be  likely  to  fail. 

The  practice  of  the  scale  in  swelling  tones,  is  chiefly  relied  upon 
by  teachers  of  vocal  music,  for  developing  the  voice,  and  for  acquir- 
ing- purity,  mellowness,  flexibility,  and  an  adequate  breadth  of  tone. 

Immediately  before  singing  each  sound,  breath  should  be  taken  so 
as  completely  to  inflate  the  lungs ;  and  after  pausing  an  instant  with 
the  chest  well  expanded,  the  sound  should  commence  with  firmness, 
but  with  great  softness,  then  gradually  augmented  to  the  loudest 
degree,  succeeded  by  being  as  gradually  diminished  to  the  degree 
of  force  with  which  it  began.  Each  tone  should  be  prolonged  from 
eighteen  to  twenty  seconds. 

This  exercise,  as  a  general  rule,  should  be  continued  for  about  tw© 
months  ;  singing  the  scale  daily  about  four  times. 

In  the  delivery  of  the  tones  of  the  "  chest  register,''  the  air  ought 
to  escape  without  touching  the  surfaces  of  the  mouth  ;  the  tones  of 
the  "  medium  register,"  are  best  acquired  by  directing  the  air  a  little 
above  the  upper  front  teeth  :  —  in  those  of  the  "  head  register,"  the 
air  is  directed  vertically 


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CULTIVATION    OF    PURE    TONE. 


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To  adapt  the  above  exercise  to  the  Contralto  and  Bass  voice,  it 
must  be  transposed  a  third  or  fourth  lower. 

This  mark         _^?L  is  designed  to  indicate   the  swelling 

pp-^zzzz^^-pp 
tone ;  the  double  comma  before  each  note,  the  place  ior  breathing 

21 


242  APPENDIX. 

EXTRACTS   FOR  PRACTICE. 

EXERCISES   IN   "PURE    TONE." 

("  Subdued  M  force,  or  softened  utterance.) 

L  —  Pathos. 

1.  —  [The  Grave  of  a  Family.] — Gray. 

41  I  wandered  on,  scarce  knowing  where  I  went, 

Till  I  was  seated  on  an  infant's  grave. 

Alas !  I  knew  the  little  tenant  well : 

She  was  one  of  a  lovely  family, 

That  oft  had  clung  around  me  like  a  wreath 

Of  flowers,  the  fairest  of  the  maiden  spring :  — 

It  was  a  new-made  grave,  and  the  green  sod 

Lay  loosely  on  it ;  yet  affection  there 

Had  reared  the  stone,  her  monument  of  fame. 

I  read  the  name  I  loved  to  hear  her  lisp  :  — 

'T  was  not  alone  ;  but  every  name  was  there, 

That  lately  echoed  through  that  happy  dome. 

"  I  had  been  three  weeks  absent :  — in  that  time 
The  merciless  destroyer  was  at  work, 
And  spared  not  one  of  all  the  infant  group. 
The  last  of  all  I  read  the  grandsire's  name, 
On  whose  white  locks  I  oft  had  seen  her  cheek, 
Like  a  bright  sunbeam  on  a  fleecy  cloud, 
Rekindling  in  his  eye  the  fading  lustre, 
Breathing  into  his  heart  the  glow  of  youth,  — 
He  died,  at  eighty,  of  a  broken  heart, 
Bereft  of  all  for  whom  he  wished  to  live." 

2. —  [Heroism  of  the  Pilgrims.]  — Ckoate. 

["  I  acknowledge  the  splendor  of  the  scene  of  Thermopylae  in  all 
its  aspects.  I  admit  its  morality,  too,  and  its  useful  influence  on 
every  Grecian  heart,  in  that  greatest  crisis  of  Greece.] 

"  And  yet,  do  you  not  think,  that  whoso  could,  by  adequate 
description,  bring  before  you  that  winter  of  the  Pilgrims,  its  brief 
sunshine,  the  nights  of  storm  slow  waning ;  the  damp  and  icy  breath, 
felt  to  the  pillow  of  the  dying ;  its  destitutions,  its  contrasts  with  all 
their  former  experience  in  life ;  its  insulation  and  loneliness ;  its 
death-beds  and  burials  ;  its  memories  ;  its  apprehensions ;  its  hopes  • 
the  consultations  of  the  prudent ;  the  prayers  of  the  pious ;  the  occa- 


EXERCISES   IN    "  PURE    TONE  :" SOLEMNITY  243 

sional  cheerful  hymn,  in  which  the  strong  heart  threw  off  its  bur- 
then, and,  asserting  its  unvanquished  nature,  went  up  like  a  bird  of 
dawn,  to  the  skies ;  —  do  ye  not  think  that  whoso  could  describe 
them  calmly  waiting  in  that  defile,  lonelier  and  darker  than  Thermo- 
pylae, for  a  morning  that  might  never  dawn,  or  might  show  them, 
when  it  did,  a  mightier  arm  than  the  Persian,  *  raised  as  in  act  to 
strike,'  would  sketch  a  scene  of  more  difficult  and  rarer  heroism?  " 

11.  —  Solemnity. 

(" Subdued"  force,  —  soft  and  deep  tone.) 

1. —  [Stanza  of  a  Russian  Hymn.] — Bowring, 

"  Thou  breathest ;  —  and  the  obedient  storm  is  still , 
Thou  speakest ;  —  silent  the  submissive  wave : 
Man's  shattered  ship  the  rushing  waters  fill ; 
And  the  hushed  billows  roll  across  his  grave. 
Sourceless  and  endless  God !  compared  with  Thee, 
Life  is  a  shadowy,  momentary  dream ; 
And  time,  when  viewed  through  Thy  eternity, 
Less  than  the  mote  of  morning's  golden  beam." 

2. —  [Midnight  Musings.]  — Irving. 

44  I  am  now  alone  in  my  chamber.  The  family  have  long  since 
retired.  I  have  heard  their  steps  die  away,  and  the  doors  clap  to 
after  them.  The  murmur  of  voices,  and  the  peal  of  remote  laughter, 
no  longer  reach  the  ear.  The  clock  from  the  church  in  which  so 
many  of  the  former  inhabitants  of  this  house  lie  buried,  has  chimed 
the  awful  hour  of  midnight. 

14 1  have  sat  by  the  window,  and  mused  upon  the  dusky  landscape, 
watching  the  lights  disappearing,  one  by  one,  from  the  distant  village ; 
and  the  moon  rising  in  her  silent  majesty,  and  leading  up  all  the  silver 
pomp  of  heaven.  As  I  have  gazed  upon  these  quiet  groves  and  shad- 
owing lawns,  silvered  over  and  imperfectly  lighted  by  streaks  cf 
dewy  moonshine,  my  mind  has  been  crowded  by  i  thick-coming  fan- 
cies '  concerning  those  spiritual  beings  which 
1  Walk  the  earth, 
Unseen,  both  when  we  wake  and  when  we  sleep.'  " 

3.  —  [From  the  Thanatopsis.]  —  Bryant. 

44  Go  forth  under  the  open  sky,  and  list 

To  Nature's  teachings,  while  from  all  arouni,  — 


244  APPENDIX. 

Earth  and  her  waters,  and  the  depths  of  air,  — 

Comes  a  still  voice,  —  *  Yet  a  few  days,  and  thee 

The  all-beholding  sun  shall  see  no  more 

In  all  his  course ;  nor  yet  in  the  cold  ground, 

Where  thy  pale  form  was  laid,  with  many  tears, 

Nor  in  the  embrace  of  ocean  shall  exist 

Thy  image.     Earth,  that  nourished  thee  shall  claim 

Thy  growth,  to  be  resolved  to  earth  again ; 

And,  lost  each  human  trace,  surrendering  up 

Thine  individual  being,  shalt  thou  go 

To  mix  forever  with  the  elements, 

To  be  a  brother  to  the  insensible  rock, 

And  to  the  sluggish  clod,  which  the  rude  swain 

Turns  with  his  share,  and  treads  upon. 

4  Thou  shalt  lie  down 
With  patriarchs  of  the  infant  world,  —  with  kings, 
The  powerful  of  the  earth,  —  the  wise,  the  good, 
Fair  forms  and  hoary  seers  of  ages  past, 
All  in  one  mighty  sepulchre.  —  The  hills, 
Rock-ribbed  and  ancient  as  the  sun,  —  the  vales, 
Stretching  in  pensive  quietness  between ; 
The  venerable  woods,  —  rivers  that  move 
In  majesty,  and  the  complaining  brooks 
That  make  the  meadows  green  ;  and  poured  round  all, 
Old  ocean's  gray  and  melancholy  waste,  — 
Are  but  the  solemn  decorations  all 
Of  the  great  tomb  of  man.'  " 

III.  — Tranquillity. 
("Subdued"  force,  —  gentle  and  level  utterance.) 

1.  —  [Constantinople,   on  the  eve    of  the  last  assault.] — 3/m, 

Hemans. 

"  The  streets  grow  still  and  lonely ;  and  the  star, 

The  last  bright  lingerer  in  the  path  of  morn, 
Gleams  faint ;  and  in  the  very  lap  of  war, 
As  if  young  Hope  with  Twilight's  ray  were  born, 
Awhile  the  city  sleeps  :  —  her  throngs,  o'erworn 
With  fears  and  watchings,  to  their  homes  retire ; 

Nor  is  the  balmy  air  of  day-spring  torn 
With  battle  sounds ;  the  winds  in  sighs  expire  ; 
And  Quiet  broods  in  mists,  that  veil  the  sunbeam's  fire." 


EXERCISES   IN    "PURE   TONE  ?J —  TRANQUILLITY.     215 

2.  —  [Contemplation.]  —  Moir. 

"  The  sea  is  waveless  as  a  lake  ingulfed 

'Mid  sheltering  hills,  —  without  a  ripple  spreads 

Its  bosom,  silent,  and  immense,  —  the  hues 

Of  flickering  day  have  from  its  surface  died, 

Leaving  it  garbed  in  sunless  majesty. 

With  bosoming  branches  round,  yon  village  hang? 

Its  rows  of  lofty  elm  trees  ;  silently 

Towering  in  spiral  wreaths  to  the  soft  sky, 

The  smoke  from  many  a  cheerful  hearth  ascends 

Melting  in  ether. 

"As  I  gaze,  behold 
The  evening  star  illumines  the  blue  south 
Twinkling  in  loveliness.     O  holy  star, 
Thou  bright  dispenser  of  the  twilight  dews, 
Thou  herald  of  Night's  glowing  galaxy, 
And  harbinger  of  social  bliss !  how  oft, 
Amid  the  twilights  of  departed  years, 
Resting  beside  the  river's  mirror  clear, 
On  trunk  of  mossy  oak,  with  eyes  upturned 
To  thee  in  admiration,  have  I  sat 
Dreaming  sweet  dreams,  till  earth-born  turbulence 
Was  all  forgot,  and  thinking  that  in  thee, 
Far  from  the  rudeness  of  this  jarring  world, 
There  might  be  realms  of  quiet  happiness !  " 

3.  —  [Peace.]  — Anonymous. 

"Lovely  art  thou,  O  Peace!  and  lovely  are  thy  children;  and 
lovely  are  the  prints  of  thy  footsteps  in  the  green  valleys. 

"  Blue  wreaths  of  smoke  ascend  through  the  trees,  and  betray  the 
half-hidden  cottage :  the  eye  contemplates  well-thatched  ricks  and 
barns  bursting  with  plenty :  the  peasant  laughs  at  the  approach  of 
winter. 

"  White  houses  peep  through  the  trees ;  cattle  stand  cooling  in  the 
pool ;  the  casement  of  the  farm-house  is  covered  with  jessamine  and 
honeysuckle ;  the  stately  green-house  exhales  the  perfume  of  sum- 
mer climates. 

"  Children  climb  the  green  mound  of  the  rampart ;  and  ivy  hold* 
together  the  halt-demolished  buttress 
21* 


246  APPENDIX. 

■  The  lame,  the  blind,  and  the  aged,  repose  in  hospitals. 
"  Justice  is  dispensed  to  all :  law  sits  steady  on  her  throne," 

4.  —  [Sabbath  Morning.]  —  Grahame. 

"  How  still  the  morning  of  the  hallowed  day ! 
Mute  is  the  voice  of  rural  labor,  hushed 
The  ploughboy's  whistle,  and  the  milkmaid's  song. 
The  scythe  lies  glittering  in  the  dewy  wreath 
Of  tedded  grass,  mingled  with  faded  flowers, 
That  yestermorn  bloomed  waving  in  the  breeze. 
Sounds  the  most  faint  attract  the  ear,  —  the  hum 
Of  early  bee,  the  trickling  of  the  dew, 
The  distant  bleating  midway  up  the  hill. 
Calmness  sits  throned  on  yon  unmoving  cloud. 
To  him  who  wonders  o'er  the  upland  leas, 
The  blackbird's  note  comes  mellower  from  the  dale 
And  sweeter  from  the  sky  the  gladsome  lark 
Warbles  his  heaven-tuned  song  ;  the  lulling  brook 
Murmurs  more  gently  down  the  deep-worn  glen  ; 
While  from  yon  cottage-roof  whose  curling  smoke 
O'ermounts  the  mist,  is  heard,  at  intervals, 
The  voice  of  psalms,  —  the  simple  song  of  praise." 

"  MODERATE  FORCE." 

I.  — "Grave"  Style. 
(Tone  smooth,  but  inclining  to  deep.) 
1.  -—  XAd  monition.]  — Anonymous. 
"  T  is  not  in  man 
To  look  unmoved  upon  that  heaving  waste, 
Which,  from  horizon  to  horizon  spread, 
Meets  the  o'erarching  heavens  on  every  side, 
Blending  their  hues  in  distant  faintness  there. 

"  'T  is  wonderful !  —  and  yet,  my  boy,  just  such 
Is  life.     Life  is  a  sea  as  fathomless, 
As  wide,  as  terrible,  and  yet  sometimes 
As  calm  and  beautiful.     The  light  of  heaven 
Smiles  on  it ;  and  't  is  decked  with  every  hue 
Of  glory  and  of  joy.     Anon  dark  clouds 
Arise  ;  contending  winds  of  fate  go  forth ;  — 
And  Hope  sits  weeping  o'er  a  general  wreck. 
"  And  thou  must  sail  upon  this  sea,  a  long 


EXERCISES  IN  "PURE  TONE*." "  GRAVE "  STYLE.  24? 

Eventful  voyage.     The  wise  may  suffer  wreck,  — 
The  foolish  must.     Oh !  then  be  early  wise ! 
Learn  from  the  mariner  his  skilful  art 
To  ride  upon  the  waves,  and  catch  the  breeze, 
And  dare  the  threatening  storm,  and  trace  a  path 
'Mid  countless  dangers,  to  the  destined  port 
Unerringly  secure.     Oh  !  learn  from  him 
To  station  quick-eyed  Prudence  at  the  helm, 
To  guard  thy  sail  from  Passion's  sudden  blasts, 
And  make  Religion  thy  magnetic  guide, 
Which,  though  it  trembles  as  it  lowly  lies, 
Points  to  the  light  that  changes  not,  —  in  heaven ." 

2.  —  [Cosrou's  Address  to  Mirza.]  —  Hawksworth. 

"  Be  not  offended :  I  boast  of  no  knowledge  that  I  have  not 
received.  As  the  sands  of  the  desert  drink  up  the  drops  of  the  rain, 
or  the  dew  of  the  morning,  so  do  I  also,  who  am  but  dust,  imbibe  the 
instructions  of  the  Prophet.  Believe,  then,  it  is  he  who  tells  thee,  all 
knowledge  is  profane  which  terminates  in  thyself;  and  by  a  life 
wasted  in  speculation,  little  even  of  this  can  be  gained.  When  the 
gates  of  paradise  are  thrown  open  before  thee,  thy  mind  shall  be 
irradiated  in  a  moment :  here,  thou  canst  do  little  more  than  pile  error 
upon  error,  —  there  thou  shalt  build  truth  upon  truth.  Wait,  there- 
fore, for  the  glorious  vision. 

"  Much  is  in  thy  power ;  and  therefore  much  is  expected  of  thee. 
Though  the  Almighty  only  can  give  virtue,  yet,  as  a  prince,  thou 
may  est  stimulate  those  to  beneficence,  who  act  from  no  higher  motive 
than  immediate  interest :  thou  canst  not  produce  the  principle,  but 
mayst  enforce  the  practice.  Let  thy  virtue  be  thus  diffused ;  and  if 
thou  believest  with  reverence,  thou  shalt  be  accepted  above. 

u  Farewell '  May  the  smile  of  Him  who  resides  in  the  heaven  of 
heavens,  be  upon  thee ;  and  against  thy  name,  in  the  volume  of  Hi* 
will,  may  happiness  be  written !  " 

n.  —  "Serious"  Style. 

(Tone,  smooth  and  level,  but  spirited.) 

1.  —  [Uses  of  Knowledge.] — Alison. 

44  One  great  end  to  which  all  knowledge  ought  to  be  employed,  19 
the  welfare  of  humanity.  Every  science  is  the  foundation  of  some 
■rt  benefaial  to  men ;  and  while  the  study  of  it  leads  us  to  see  tho 


248 


APPENDIX. 


beneficence  of  the  laws  of  nature,  it  calls  upon  us  also  to  follow  the 
great  end  of  the  Father  of  nature,  in  their  employment  and  applica- 
tion. 

"  I  need  not  say  what  a  field  is  thus  opened  to  the  benevolence  of 
knowledge ;  I  need  not  tell  you,  that,  in  every  department  of  learn 
ing,  there  is  good  to  be  done  to  mankind.  I  need  not  remind  you, 
that  the  ag3  in  which  we  live  has  given  us  the  noblest  examples  in 
this  kind,  and  that  science  now  finds  its  highest  glory  in  improving 
the  condition,  or  in  allaying  the  miseries  of  humanity." 

2.  —  [Early  Rising.]  — Hurd. 

"  Rise  with  the  lark,  and  with  the  lark  to  bed. 
The  breath  of  night 's  destructive  to  the  hue 
Of  every  flower  that  blows.     Go  to  the  field, 
And  ask  the  humble  daisy  why  it  sleeps 
Soon  as  the  sun  departs :  Why  close  the  eyes 
Of  blossoms  infinite,  ere  the  still  moon 
Her  oriental  veil  puts  off?     Think  why, 
Nor  let  the  sweetest  blossom  be  exposed 
That  nature  boasts,  to  night's  unkindly  damp. 
Well  may  it  droop,  and  all  its  freshness  lose, 
Compelled  to  taste  the  rank  and  poisonous  steam 
Of  midnight  theatre,  and  morning  ball. 
Give  to  repose  the  solemn  hour  she  claims  ; 
And,  from  the  forehead  of  the  morning,  steal 
The  sweet  occasion.     Oh !  there  is  a  charm 
That  morning  has,  that  gives  the  brow  of  age 
A  smack  of  youth,  and  makes  the  lip  of  youth 
Breathe  perfumes  exquisite.     Expect  it  not, 
Ye  who  till  noon  upon  a  down  bed  lie, 
Indulging  feverish  sleep,  or,  wakeful,  dream 
Of  happiness  no  mortal  heart  has  felt, 
But  in  the  regions  of  romance.' ' 

3  —  [Counsels  of  Polonius  to  Laertes.]  — Shakspeare. 

"  These  few  precepts  in  thy  memory 

Look  thou  character.     Give  thy  thoughts  no  tongue 

Nor  any  unproportioned  thought  his  act. 

Be  thou  familiar,  but  by  no  means  vulgar. 

The  friends  thou  hast,  and  their  adoption  tried, 

Grapple  them  to  thy  soul  with  hooks  of  steeJ; 


EXERCISES   IN    "PURE   TONE:"  —  " SERIOUS "    ST¥LE.    249 

But  do  not  dull  thy  palm  with  entertainment 

Of  each  new-hatched  unfledged  comrade.     Beware 

Of  entrance  to  a  quarrel ;  but,  being  in, 

Bear  it  that  the  opposer  may  beware  of  thee. 

Give  every  man  thine  ear,  but  few  thy  voice  : 

Take  each  man's  censure  but  reserve  thy  judgment. 

Costly  thy  habit  as  thy  purse  can  buy, 

But  not  expressed  in  fancy ;  rich,  not  gaudy ; 

For  the  apparel  oft  proclaims  the  man : 

Neither  a  borrower  nor  a  lender  be  ; 

For  loan  oft  loses  both  itself  and  friend ; 

And  borrowing  dulls  the  edge  of  husbandry. 

This  above  all, — To  thine  own  self  be  true; 

And  it  must  follow,  as  the  night  the  day, 

Thou  canst  not  then  be  false  to  any  man." 

III. —  "Animated,"  or  Lively  Style. 

(Tone  smooth,  but  inclining  to  high.) 

1.  —  [Morning.]  — Beattie. 

"  The  cottage  curs  at  early  pilgrim  bark ; 
Crowned  with  her  pail  the  tripping  milkmaid  sings  5 

The  whistling  ploughman  stalks  afield ;  and  hark ! 
Down  the  rough  slope  the  ponderous  wagon  rings  j 
Through  rustling  corn  the  hare  astonished  springs ; 

Slow  tolls  the  village  clock  the  drowsy  hour  ; 
The  partridge  bursts  away  on  whirring  wings  ; 

Deep  mourns  the  turtle  in  sequestered  bower, 

And  shrill  lark  carols  clear  from  her  aerial  tower. n 

2.  —  [Morning.]  — Thomson. 

11  With  quickened  step, 
Brown  Night  retires :  young  Day  pours  in  apace, 
And  opens  all  the  lawny  prospect  wide. 
The  dripping  rock,  the  mountain's  misty  top, 
Swell  on  the  sight,  and  brighten  with  the  dawn. 
Blue,  through  the  dusk,  the  smoking  currents  shine ; 
And  from  the  bladed  field  the  fearful  hare 
Limps  awkward  ;  while  along  the  forest  glade 
The  wild  deer  trip,  and  often,  turning,  gaze 
At  early  passenger.     Music  awakes 
The  native  voice  of  undissembled  joy  j 


250  APPSNDIX. 

And  thick  around  the  woodland  hymns  arise. 
Rovsed  by  the  cock,  the  soon  clad  shepherd  leaves 
His  mossy  cottage  where  with  Peace  he  dweUs  I 
And  from  the  crowded  fold,  in  order  drives 
His  flock,  to  taste  the  verdure  of  the  morn." 

3.  —  [Animal  Happiness.]  — Paley. 

*'The  atmosphere  is  not  the  only  scene  of  animal  enjoyment 
riants  are  covered  with  insects,  greedily  sucking  theii  juices,  and 
constantly,  as  it  should  seem,  in  the  act  of  sucking.  It  cannot  bo 
doubted  that  this  is  a  state  of  gratification.  What  else  should  fix 
them  so  closely  to  the  operation  and  so  long?  Other  species  are 
running  about,  with  an  alacrity  in  their  motions,  w7hich  carries  with 
it  every  mark  of  pleasure.  Large  patches  of  ground  are  sometimea 
half  covered  with  these  brisk  and  sprightly  natures. 

"  If  we  look  to  what  the  waters  produce,  shoals  of  the  fry  of  fish 
frequent  the  margins  of  rivers,  of  lakes,  and  of  the  sea  itself.  These 
are  so  happy,  that  they  know  not  what  to  do  with  themselves. 
Their  attitudes,  their  vivacity,  their  leaps  out  of  the  water,  their 
frolics  in  it,  all  conduce  to  show  their  excess  of  spirits,  and  are  sira 
ply  the  effects  of  that  excess.' i 

IV.  — "Gay,"  or  Brisk,  Style. 

(Tone,  smooth  and  high.) 

1.  —  [Rustic  Superstitions.]  — Milton 

M  Then  to  the  spicy  nut  brown  ale, 
With  stories  told  of  many  a  feat, 
How  fairy  Mab  the  junkets  eat : 
She  was  pinched  and  pmled,  she  said ; 
And  he  by  friar's  lantern  led, 
Tells  how  the  drudging  goblin  sweat, 
To  earn  his  cream  bowl  duly  set, 
When  in  one  night,  ere  glimpse  of  mor* 
His  shadowy  flail  hath  threshed  the  con., 
That  ten  day-laborers  could  not  end  ; 
Then  lies  him  down,  the  lubber  fiend, 
And,  stretched  out  all  the  chimney's  length 
Basks  at  the  fire  his  hairy  strength  ; 
» And  crop-full,  out  of  doors  he  flings, 
Ere  the  first  cock  his  matin  rings." 


"pure  tone:" — "gay"  style.  251 

(Tone  smooth,  high,  and  loud.) 
2.  —  [From  the  Ode  on  the  Passions.] — Collina. 

"  But  oh !  how  altered  was  its  sprightlier  tone, 
When  Cheerfulness,  a  nymph  of  healthiest  hue, — 

Her  bow  against  her  shoulder  flung, 
Her  buskins  gemmed  with  morning  dew,  — 

Blow  an  inspiring  air,  that  dale  and  thicket  rung, 
The  hunter's  call,  to  Faun  and  Dryad  known. 

The  oak-crowned  Sisters,  and  their  chaste-eyed  Queen, 
Satyrs  and  Sylvan  boys,  were  seen 
Peeping  from  forth  their  alleys  green : 

Brown  Exercise  rejoiced  to  hear, 
And  Sport  leaped  up,  and  seized  his  beechen  spear 

"  Last  came  Joy's  ecstatic  trial :  — 

He,  with  viny  crown  advancing, 
First  to  the  lively  pipe  his  hand  addressed ;  — 

But  soon  he  saw  the  brisk  awakening  viol, 
Whose  sweet  entrancing  voice  he  loved  the  best. 

They  would  have  thought,  who  heard  the  strain, 
They  saw  in  Tempe's  vale  her  native  maids, 
Amidst  the  festal  sounding  shades 

To  some  unwearied  minstrel  dancing ; 
While,  as  his  flying  fingers  kissed  the  strings, 

Love  framed  with  Mirth  a  gay  fantastic  round  ;  — ■ 

Loose  were  her  tresses  seen,  her  zone  unbound; 
And  he,  amid  his  frolic  play, 
As  if  he  would  the  charming  air  repay, 
Shook  thousand  odors  from  his  dewy  wings.' ' 

3. —  [The  Fall  of  Lodore.] — Southey. 

u How  does  the  water  come  down  at  Lodore? 
Receding  and  speeding, 
And  shocking  and  rocking 
And  darting  and  parting, 
And  dripping  and  skipping, 
And  whitening  and  brightening, 
And  quivering  and  shivering, 
And  hitting  and  splitting, 
And  rattling  and  battling, 
And  running  and  stunning, 


252  APPENDIX. 

And  hurrying  and  slurrying', 

And  glittering"  and  frittering, 

And  gathering  and  feathering ; 
And  Clattering  and  battering  and  shattering, 
And  rushing  and  flushing  and  brushing  and  gushing, 
A  nd  flapping  and  rapping  and  clapping  and  slapping, 
Advancing  and  prancing  and  glancing  and  dancii  g , 
And  so  never  ending  but  always  descending, 
Sounds  and  motions  forever  and  ever  are  blending." 

V.  —  "Humorous,"  or  Playful,  Style, 

Exercise. 

[In  the  reading  of  the  following  scene,  the  tone  of  humor  is  excm 
plified  in  the  laughing  and  bantering  utterance  in  which  the  audience 
make  their  remarks  on  the  absurd  attempts  at  sublimity,  solemnity, 
and  pathos,  which  are  made  by  the  clownish  amateur  actors.  These 
worthies  have,  it  may  be  recollected,  volunteered  a  play  on  the  story 
of  Pyramus  and  Thisbe,  for  the  entertainment  of  the  court  of  The- 
seus, "  duke  "  of  Athens,  during  a  season  of  festivity.] 

(Tone  smooth,  but  in  laughing  utterance,  in  the  italic  passages.) 

[Scene  from  the  Midsummer  Night's  Dream.]  — Shakspeare, 

"Enter  Lion  and  Moonshine. 

"Lion,     You  ladies,  you  whose  gentle  hearts  do  feai 
The  smallest  monstrous  mouse  that  creeps  on  floor, 
May  now,  perchance,  both  quake  and  tremble  here, 
When  lion  rough  in  wildest  rage  doth  roar. 
Then  know,  that  I,  one  Snug,  the  joiner,  am,  — 
No  lion  fell,  nor  else  no  lion's  dam  ; 
For  if  I  should  as  lion  come  in  strife 
Into  this  place,  't  were  pity  of  my  life. 
Tliescus.     A  very  gentle  beast,  and  of  good  conscience. 
Demetrius.     The  very  best  at  a  beast,  my  lord,  that  e'e  *  1  saw. 
Lysander.     This  lion  is  a  very  fox  for  his  valor. 
TJies.     Time;  and  a  goose  for  his  discretion. 
Dem.     Not  so,  my  lord:  for  his  valor  cannot  carry  his  discretion 
and  the  fox  carries  the  goose. 

1  The  remarks  w'lich  exemplify  the  mode  of  utterance  mentioned  above 
t  dtewtftidyvi  ay  italics. 


EXERCISES   IN    tc OROTUND "    UTTERANCE.  253 

'Dies.  His  discretion,  I  am  sure,  cannot  carry  his  valor  ;  for  the 
goose  carries  not  the  fox.  It  is  well :  leave  it  to  his  discretion  ;  and 
let  us  listen  to  the  moon. 

Moon.     l  This  lantern  doth  the  horned  moon  present : 

1  Myself  the  man  i'  the  moon  do  seem  to  be.? 

Thes.  This  is  the  greatest  error  of  all  the  rest :  the  man  shoula  be 
pat  into  the  lantern.     How  is  it  else  the  man  i'  the  moon  ? 

Dem.  He  dares  not  come  there  fo?  the  candle;  for,  you  see,  it  is 
already  in  snuff. 

Hippolyta.     I  am  aweary  of  this  moon :  would  he  would  change  ! 

Thes.  It  appears,  by  his  small  light  of  discretion,  that  he  is  in  the 
wane :  but  yet,  in  courtesy,  in  all  reason,  we  must  stay  the  time. 

Lys,     Proceed,  moon 

Moon.  i  All  that  I  have  to  say,  is,  to  tell  you  that  the  lantern  is 
the  moon  ;  I,  the  man  in  the  moon  ;  this  thorn-bush  my  thorn-bush ; 
and  this  dog,  my  dog.' 

Dem.  Why,  all  these  should  be  in  the  lantern :  for  they  are  in  the 
moon.  —  But  silence!  —  here  comes  Thisbe." 

EXERCISES  IN  "  OROTUND "  UTTERANCE. 

To  young  persons  whose  organs  are  yet  pliant,  and  susceptible  of 
the  full  effects  of  cultivation,  and  to  students  who  are  desirous  of 
acquiring  a  perfect  command  over  the  vocal  organs,  for  the  purposes 
of  effective  public  speaking,  as  well  as  to  persons  who  wish  to  attain 
facility  in  the  strong  impassioned  expression  of  vocal  music,  as  exem- 
plified in  occasional  passages  of  the  oratorio  and  the  opera,  the  power 
of  orotund  utterance,  in  all  its  extent,  is  indispensable  as  an  accom- 
plishment. Capacious  and  vigorous  organs,  a  high  state  of  health, 
an  energetic  will,  a  deep  and  quick  susceptibility  of  the  inspiration 
of  poetic  passion,  enable  some  individuals  to  become  powerful  vocal- 
ists and  speakers,  with  comparatively  little  training  or  express  prac-~ 
tice.  But  the  vast  majority  of  human  beings  cannot  attain  the  effect- 
ive expression  of  intense  emotion,  without  the  aid  of  systematic  cul- 
ture and  persevering  application  ;  and,  to  all  classes  of  students,  such 
assistance  is  of  immense  advantage  :  the  more  regular  and  extensive 
iLe  discipline,  the  greater  is  always  the  result  in  power  of  voice. 

For  these  reasons,  it  will  be  of  the  utmost  service,  as  an  efficacious 
mode  of  training,  to  repeat,  with  due  frequency,  previous  to  com- 
mencing the  following  exercises,  the  organic  functions  of  breathing 
in  its  different  forms,  as  before  suggested,  and  the  yawning,  cough 
ing,  crying,  and  laughing  modes  of  utterance,  on  the  "  tonic 
elements,"  and  on  words  selected  from  the  "  exercises  in  enuncia- 
tion," 

22 


254  «  APPENDIX. 

I.  —  "effusive  orotund." 
{.--Pathos  and  Gloom,  or  Melancholy,  united  with  Grandeur. 
1.  —  [Ossian's  Apostrophe  to  the  Sun.|  —  Macpherson. 

"  O  thou  that  rollest  above,  round  as  the  shield  of  my  father*  ! 
whence  are  thy  beams,  O  sun !  thy  everlasting-  light?  Thou  comest 
forth  in  thy  awful  beauty :  the  stars  hide  themselves  in  the  sky ;  the 
moon,  cold  and  pale,  sinks  in  the  western  wave.  But  thou  thyself 
movest  alone  :  who  can  be  a  companion  of*  thy  course  1  The  oaks  of 
the  mountains  fall ;  the  mountains  themselves  decay  with  years  ;  the 
ocean  shrinks  and  grows  again ;  the  moon  herself  is  lost  in  the 
heavens  ;  but  thou  art  forever  the  same,  rejoicing  in  the  brightness 
of  thy  course.  When  the  world  is  dark  with  tempests,  when  thun- 
ders roll  and  lightnings  fly,  thou  lookest  in  thy  beauty  from  tho 
clouds,  and  laughest  at  the  storm.  — -  But  to  Ossian  thou  lookest  in 
vain ;  for  he  beholds  thy  beams  no  more  ;  whether  thy  yellow  haif 
floats  on  the  eastern  clouds,  or  thou  tremblest  at  the  gates  of  the 
west.  But  thou  art,  perhaps,  like  me,  —  for  a  season:  thy  years 
will  have  an  end.  Thou  wilt  sleep  in  thy  clouds,  careless  of  the 
voice  of  the  morning." 

2.  —  [Milton's  Allusion  to  his  loss  of  Sight.] 
"  Seasons  return :   But  not  to  me  returns 
Day,  or  the  sweet  approach  of  even  or  morn, 
Or  sight  of  vernal  bloom,  or  summer's  rose, 
Or  flocks  or  herds  or  human  face  divine  ; 
But  cloud,  instead,  and  ever-during  dark 
Surround  me,  from  the  cheerful  ways  of  men 
Cut  off,  and,  for  the  book  of  knowledge  fair, 
Presented  with  a  universal  blank 
Of  nature's  works,  to  me  expunged  and  razed, 
And  wisdom  at  one  entrance  quite  shut  out !  n 

3.  —  [From  the  Ode  on  the  Passions.] — Collins. 

"  With  eyes  upraised  as  one  inspired, 

Pale  Melancholy  sat  retired, 

And  fiom  her  wild,  sequestered  seat, 

In  notes  by  distance  made  more  sweet, 
Poured  through  the  mellow  horn  her  pensive  soul ; 

And,  dashing  soft  from  rocks  around, 

Bubbling  runnels  joined  the  sound  : 
Through  glades  and  glooms  the  mingled  measure  stole ; 


EXERf/SES   IN    "OROTUND"    UTTERANCE*  255 

Or,  o'er  ?ome  haunted  stream,  with  fond  delay 

Rovj  d  a  holy  calm  diffusing, 

J./vti  of  peace  and  lonely  musing", 
*i  fallow  murmurs  died  away." 

Jl        Solemnity  and  Sublimity,  combined  with  Tranquillity, 

[From  the  Thanatofsis.] — Bryant. 

1  Yet  not  to  thy  eternal  resting  place 
Shalt  thou  retire  alone,  nor  couldst  thou  wish 
Couch  more  magnificent.     Thou  shalt  lie  down 
With  patriarchs  of  the  infant  world,  —  with  kings 
The  powerful  of  the  earth,  —  the  wise,  the  good, 
Fair  forms  and  hoary  seers  of  ages  past,  — 
All  in  one  mighty  sepulchre.  —  The  hills, 
Rock-ribbed,  and  ancient  as  the  sun, — the  vales, 
Stretching  in  pensive  quietness  between ; 
The  venerable  woods,  —  rivers  that  move 
In  majesty,  and  the  complaining  brooks 
That  make  the  meadows  green  ;  and,  poured  round  all  , 
Old  ocean's  gray  and  melancholy  waste,  — 
Are  but  the  solemn  decorations  all 
Of  the  great  tomb  of  man.     The  golden  sun, 
The  planets,  all  the  infinite  host  of  heaven, 
Are  shining  on  the  sad  abodes  of  death, 
Through  the  still  lapse  of  ages.     All  that  tread 
The  globe  are  but  a  handful  to  the  tribes 
That  slumber  in  its  bosom.  —  Take  the  wings 
Of  morning,  —  and  the  Barcan  desert  pierce, 
Or  lose  thyselt  in  the  continuous  woods 
Where  rolls  the  Oregon,  and  hears  no  sound 
Save  his  own  dashings,  —  yet  the  dead  are  there  ; 
And  millions,  in  those  solitudes,  since  first 
The  flight  of  years  began,  have  laid  them  down 
In  their  last  sleep  :  — the  dead  reign  there  alone." 

III. —  Reverence,  and  Adoration.1 

1.  — -[From  the  Morning  Hymn  in  Paradise.] — 3Iilton. 

"  These  are  Thy  glorious  works,  Parent  of  Good, 

1  The  appropriate  tone  of  devotion  is  uniformly  characterized  by  "  effusivo 
ootund '  utterance. 


250  APPENDIX. 

Almigrty !   Thine  this  universal  frame 

Thus  wondrous  fair,  —  Thyself  how  wondrous  then  J 

Unspeakable !  who  sitt'st  above  these  heavens 

To  us  invisible,  or  dimly  seen 

'Midst  these  thy  lowest  works. 

"$et  these  declare  Thy  goodness  beyond  thought 

And  power  divine !  " 

2.  —  [Adoration  offered  by  the  Angels.] — Milton. 

"  Thee,  Father,  first  they  sung,  omnipotent, 

Immutable,  immortal,  infinite, 

Eternal  King :  Thee  Author  of  all  being, 

Fountain  of  light,  thyself  invisible 

Amidst  the  glorious  brightness  where  Thou  sitt'st 

Throned  inaccessible,  but  when  Thou  shad'st 

The  full  blaze  of  thy  beams,  and,  through  a  cloud 

Drawn  round  about  Thee,  like  a  radiant  shrine, 

Dark  with  excessive  bright,  thy  skirts  appear, 

Yet  dazzle  Heaven  that  brightest  seraphim 

Approach  not,  but  with  both  wings  veil  their  eyes." 

JI.  —  "expulsive  orotund." 

I.  —  "  Declamatory ' '  Style. 

1. — Oratorical  Invective. 

[Against  "Warren  Hastings.]  —  Burke. 

"  By  the  order  of  the  House  of  Commons  of  Great  Britain,  1  im 
peach  Warren  Hastings  of  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 

*  I  impeach  him  in  the  name  of  the  Commons  of  Great  Britain  in 
Parliament  assembled,  whose  parliamentary  trust  he  has  abused. 

"  I  impeach  him  in  the  name  of  the  Commons  of  Great  Britain, 
whose  national  character  he  has  dishonored. 

"  I  impeach  him  in  the  name  of  the  people  of  India,  whose  laws, 
rights  >  and  liberties  he  has  subverted. 

"  I  impeach  him  in  the  name  of  the  people  of  India,  whose  property 
he  has  destroyed,  whose  countrv  he  has  k'd  waste  and  desolate. 

"  1  impeach  him  in  the  nam?,  of  human  nature  itself,  which  he  has 
cruelly  outraged,  injured,  and  oppressed,  in  both  sexes.  And  I  im 
peach  him  in  the  name  and  by  the  virtue  of  those  eternal  li.<vs  of 
Justice,  which  ought  equally  to  pervade  every  age,  condition,  rank 
and  situation,  in  the  world." 


EXERCISES    IN    " OROTUND7'    UTTERANCE.  257 

2.  — Oratorical  Apostrophe  and  Interrogation* 
[From  Cicero's  Accusation  of  Verres.] 
*  O  Liberty !  —  0  sound  once  delightful  to  every  Roman  ear !  — 
O  sacred  privilege  of  Roman  citizenship  !  —  Once  sacred,  now  tram- 
pled upon.  But  what  then?  Is  it  come  to  this  ?  Shall  an  inferior 
magistrate,  a  governor,  who  holds  his  whole  power  of  the  Roman 
people,  in  a  Roman  province,  within  sight  of  Italy,  bir<d,  scourge, 
torture  with  fire  and  red  hot  plates  of  iron,  and  at  la^t  jut  to  the 
infamous  death  of  the  cross,  a  Roman  citizen?  Shall  neither  tho 
ciies  of  innocence  expiring  in  agony,  nor  the  tears  of  pitying  specta- 
tors, nor  the  majesty  of  the  Roman  commonwealth,  nor  the  fear  of 
the  justice  of  his  country,  restrain  the  licentious  and  wanton  cruelty 
of  a  monster,  who,  in  confidence  of  his  riches,  strikes  at  the  root  of 
liberty,  and  sets  mankind  at  defiance?  " 

3.  —  Vehement  Oratorical  Address, 
[From  Patrick  Henry's  War  Speech.] 

14  They  tell  us,  sir,  that  we  are  weak,  unable  to  cope  with  so  for- 
midable an  adversary.  Sir,  we  are  not  weak,  if  we  make  a  proper  use 
of  those  means  which  the  God  of  nature  hath  placed  in  our  power. 
Three  millions  of  people,  armed  in  the  holy  cause  of  liberty,  and  in 
such  a  country  as  that  which  we  possess,  are  invincible  by  any  force 
which  our  enemy  can  send  against  us. 

"But,  sir,  we  shall  not  fight  our  battles  alone.  There  is  a  just 
God,  who  presides  over  the  destinies  of  nations,  and  who  will  raise 
up  friends  to  fight  our  battles  for  us.  The  battle,  sir,  is  not  to  the 
strong  alone  :  it  is  to  the  vigilant,  the  active,  the  brave. 

"  Besides,  sir,  we  have  no  election.  If  we  were  base  enough  to 
desire  it,  it  is  now  too  late  to  retire  from  the  contest.  There  is  no 
retreat  but  in  submission  and  slavery.  Our  chains  are  forged.  Their 
cla  iking  may  be  heard  on  the  plains  of  Boston.  The  war  is  inevita- 
ble ;  and  let  it  come  !     I  repeat  it,  sir,  let  it  come ! 

"  It  is  in  vain,  sir,  to  extenuate  the  matter.  Gentlemen  may  ory 
*  Tcace,  peace !  '  — but  there  is  no  peace :  the  war  is  actually  begun 
—  The  next  gale  that  sweeps  from  the  north,  will  bring  to  our  ears 
the  clash  or  resounding  arms  !  Our  brethren  are  already  in  the  field ! 
Why  stand  we  here  idle  1  What  is  it  that  gentlemen  wish  ?  What 
would  they  have  ?  —  Is  life  so  dear,  or  peace  so  sweet,  as  to  be  pur- 
chased at  the  price  of  chains  and  slavery?  —  Forbid  it,  Ajnighty 
God!  I  know  not  what  course  others  may  take;  but  as  for  me, 
give  me  liberty  or  give  me  death !  " 
22* 


258  APPENDIX. 

II.  — "Impassioned  Expression." 

1. — Poetic  Invective:  Epic  Style. 

[Moloch's  Address.] — Milton. 

"  My  sentence  is  for  open  war :  of  wiles, 
More  unexpert,  I  boast  not :  them  let  those 
Contrive  who  need,  or  when  they  need,  —  not  now 
For,  while  they  sit  contriving,  shall  the  rest, 
Millions  that  stand  in  arms,  and,  longing,  wait 
The  signal  to  ascend,  sit  lingering  here, 
Heaven's  fugitives,  and  for  their  dwelling-place 
Accept  this  dark  opprobrious  den  of  shame, 
The  prison  of  his  tyranny  who  reigns 
By  our  delay  ?     No  !  let  us  rather  choose, 
Armed  with  hell  flames  and  fury,  all  at  once 
O'er  heaven's  high  towers  to  force  resistless  way, 
Turning  our  tortures  into  horrid  arms 
Against  the  Torturer ;  when,  to  meet  the  noise 
Of  his  almighty  engine,  he  shall  hear 
Infernal  thunder,  and,  for  lightning,  see 
Black  fire  and  horror  shot,  with  equal  rage, 
Among  his  angels,  and  his  throne  itself 
Mixed  with  Tartarean  sulphur  and  strange  fire,  — 
His  own  invented  torments.' ' 

2.  —  Poetic  Apostrophe. 

[From  Coleridge's  Hymn  to  Mont  Blanc.J 

"  Ye  ice-falls  !  ye  that  from  the  mountain's  brow 
Adown  enormous  ravines  slope  amain,  — 
Torrents,  methinks,  that  heard  a  mighty  voice, 
.And  stopped  at  once  amid  their  maddest  plunge ! 
Motionless  torrents !  silent  cataracts ! 
Who  made  you  glorious  as  the  gates  of  heaven 
Beneath  the  keen  full  moon?     Who  bade  the  sun 
Clothe  you  with  rainbows  1     Who  with  living  flowen 
Of  loveliest  blue,  spread  garlands  at  your  feet?  — 
God !  let  the  torrents,  like  a  shout  of  nations, 
Answer !  and  let  the  ice-plains  echo,  God !  — 
And  they,  too,  have  a  voice,  —  yon  piles  of  snow 
And  in  their  perilous  fall  shall  thunder,  God ! 


EXERCISES   IN    "OROTUND"    UTTERANCE.  259 

"  Ye  living  flowers  that  skirt  the  eternal  frost ! 
Ye  wild  goats  sporting  round  the  eagle's  nest ! 
Ye  eagles,  playmates  of  the  mountain  storm ! 
Ye  lightnings,  the  dread  arrows  of  the  clouds ! 
Ye  signs  and  wonders  of  the  elements  ! 
Utter  forth  God,  and  fill  the  hills  with  praise !  w 

3. —  Poetic  Invective:  Lyric  Style. 

[Lochiel's  reply  to  the  Seer.]  —  Campbell. 

"  False  wizard,  avaunt !  I  have  marshalled  my  clan  : 
Their  swords  are  a  thousand,  — their  bosoms  are  one ! 
They  are  true  to  the  last  of  their  blood  and  their  breath, 
And  like  reapers  descend  to  the  harvest  of  death. 
Then  welcome  be  Cumberland's  steed  to  the  shock ! 
Let  him  dash  his  proud  foam  like  a  wave  on  the  rock. 
But  woe  to  his  kindred,  and  woe  to  his  cause, 
When  Albyn  her  claymore  indignantly  draws ; 
When  her  bonneted  chieftains  to  victory  crowd, 
Clan  Ranald,  the  dauntless,  and  Moray  the  proud ; 
All  plaided  and  plumed  in  their  tartan  array  I  " 

4.  —  Ecstatic  Poetic  Apostrophe. 

[The   Resurrection  of  Christ.] — Young. 

"  Hear,  0  ye  nations !  hear  it,  O  ye  dead ! 

He  rose,  He  rose,  —  he  burst  the  bars  of  death. 

The  theme,  the  joy,  how  then  shall  men  sustain  ? 

Oh  !  the  burst  gates !  crushed  sting !  demolished  throne ! 

Last  gasp  of  vanquished  Death !   Shout,  earth  and  heaven, 

That  sum  of  good  to  man !  whose  nature  then 

Took  wing,  and  mounted  with  him  from  the  tomb. 

"  Man,  all  immortal,  hail ! 

Hail,  Heaven,  all  lavish  of  strange  gifts  to  man! 
Thine  all  the  glory !  man's  the  boundless  bliss  !  " 

Shouting. 

Cxtisens,  [after  Antony's  Okation  over  the  body  of  Cjesar.]  — 
Shakspeare. 

li  Come,  brands,  ho !  fire-brands  !  — To  Brutus' !  to  Cassias' !  — • 
burn  all !  Some  to  Deems'  house,  and  some  to  Casca's  ;  some  to 
Ligarius' :  —  away !     o  !  " 


260  APPENDIX. 

William  Tell,  [to  the  mountains,  on  regaining  his  liberty.]- 
/.  S.  Knowles. 

"  Ye  crags  and  peaks,  I  'm  with  you  once  again  f 
I  hold  to  you  the  hands  you  first  beheld, 
To  show  they  still  are  free. 

11  Ye  guards  of  liberty, 
I  'm  with  you,  once  again !  I  call  to  you 
With  all  my  voice  !  —  I  hold  my  hands  to  you 
To  show  they  still  are  free !  " 

ILL  —  "explosive  orotund." 

1.  —  Anger,  excited  to  Rage. 

[From  the  Lord  of  the  Isles.]  —  Scott. 

Lorn,  [about  to  assault  Bruce.]     "  Talk  not  to  ma 
Of  odds  or  match !  —  When  Comyn  died, 
Three  daggers  clashed  within  his  side ! 
Talk  not  to  me  of  sheltering  hall !  — 
The  Church  of  God  saw  Comyn  fall ! 
On  God's  own  altar  streamed  his  blood ; 
While  o'er  my  prostrate  kinsman  stood 
The  ruthless  murderer,  even  as  now,  — 
With  armed  hand  and  scornful  brow.  — 
Up !  all  who  love  me !  —  blow  on  blow  ! 
And  lay  the  outlawed  felons  low !  " 

2.  —  Wrath  and  Scorn. 

[From  the  Lady  of  the  Lake.] — Satt. 

Roderick  Dhu,  [to  Malcom  Grame.]    "  Back!  beardless  boy' 
Back !  minion !  —  Holdst  thou  thus  at  naught 
The  lesson  I  so  lately  taught  1  — 
This  roof,  the  Douglas,  and  that  maid, 
Thank  thou  for  punishment  delayed ! 

Anger  and  Defiance. 

Malcom.     Perish  my  name,  if  aught  afford 

Its  chieftain  safety,  save  his  sword ! 

Indignant  Rebuke 
Douglas.    Chieftains,  forego ! 


EXEKCiSES   IN    "  OROTUND ?5    UTTERANCE.  261 

I  hold  the  first  who  strikes,  my  foe.  — 
Madmen !  forbear  your  frantic  jars !  " 

3.  —  /Scorn  and  Defiance,1 

[From  Paradise  Lost.]  —  Milton, 

Satan,  [to  Death.]    "  Whence  and  what  art  thou,  execrable  shape  I 
That  dar'st,  though  grim  and  terrible,  advance 
Thy  miscreated  front  athwart  my  way 
To  yonder  gates  ?     Through  them  I  mean  to  pass,  — 
That  be  assured,  — without  leave  asked  of  thee  : 
Retire  !  or  taste  thy  folly  ;  and  learn  by  proof, 
Hell-born !  not  to  contend  with  spirits  of  heaven." 

Wrath  and  Threatening,1 

Death,  [in  reply.]     "  Back  to  thy  punishment, 
False  fugitive  !  and  to  thy  speed  add  wings ; 
Lest  with  a  whip  of  scorpions  I  pursue 
Thy  lingering,  or,  with  one  stroke  of  this  dart, 
Strange  horror  seize  thee,  and  pangs  unfelt  before ! ,? 

4.  —  Infuriate  Anger. 

TnE  Doge  of  Venice,  [on  the  eve  of  nis  execution,  in  the  con- 
cluding words  of  his  curse  on  the  city.]  —  Byron 's  Marino  Fa* 
litri. 

"  Thou  den  of  drunkards  with  the  blood  of  princes ! 

Gehenna  of  the  waters !  thou  sea  Sodom  ! 

Thus  I  devote  thee  to  the  infernal  gods ! 

Thee  and  thy  serpent  seed ! 
[To  the  executioner.]     Slave,  do  thine  office  ! 

Strike  as  I  struck  the  foe !     Strike  as  I  would 

Have  struck  those  tyrants !     Strike  deep  as  my  curae  • 

Strike  —  and  but  once  !  " 

5. — Coirage. 

[BOZZARIS,   TO   HIS   BAND   OF    SULIOTES.]  —  IMhck. 

"  Strike  till  the  last  armed  foe  expires  ! 
Strike  for  your  altars  and  your  fires ! 
Strike  for  the  green  graves  of  your  sires, 
God  and  your  native  land !  " 

*  The  fierceness  of  emotion,  in  some  instances*  adds  ;  aspirated  quality  n  to 
orotund." 


262  APPENDIX. 

EXERCISES  IN  "ASPIRATED  QUALITY." 

I. "  EFFUSIVE  "    UTTERANCE. 

1.  —  Awe,  in  its  gentlest  form,  with  moderate  "  Aspiration.7 

("  Pectoral  Quality.") 

Note.  The  effect  intended  here  is  but  the  slightest  approach  to  a 
whisper,  —  a  barely  perceptible  breathing  sound  accompanying  the 
utterance,  —  not  unlike,  in  its  effect,  to  a  slight  hoarseness. 

[Jacob's  Exclamation  after  his  Dream.] 

•'  How  dreadful  is  this  place !  This  is  none  other  than  the  house 
of  God,  and  the  gate  of  heaven !  " 

2.  —  The  same  emotion  deepened. 
[From  the  Book  of  Psalms.] 

**  Of  old  hast  Thou  laid  the  foundation  of  the  earth ;  and  the 
heavens  are  the  work  of  Thy  hands.  They  shall  perish,  but  Thou 
shalt  endure ;  yea,  all  of  them  shall  wax  old  like  a  garment ;  as  a 
vesture  shalt  Thou  change  them,  and  they  shall  be  changed :  but 
Thou  art  the  same ;  and  Thy  years  shall  have  no  end. 

"  Before  the  mountains  were  brought  forth,  or  ever  Thou  hadst 
formed  the  earth  and  the  world,  even  from  everlasting  to  everlasting, 
Thou  art  God. 

"  Thou  turnest  man  to  destruction ;  and  sayest,  *  Return,  ye  chil- 
dren of  men.'  For  a  thousand  years,  in  Thy  sight,  are  but  as  yes- 
terday, when  it  is  past,  and  as  a  watch  in  the  night. 

"  Thou  carriest  them  away  as  with  a  flood ;  they  are  as  a  sleep  : 
in  the  morning,  they  are  like  grass  which  groweth  up.  In  the  morn- 
ing it  flourisheth  and  groweth  up  :  in  the  evening,  it  is  cut  down,  and 
withereth." 

3.  —Awe,  still  deeper  in  "  expression"  and  stronger  in  M  aspiration 

[Nature,  shrinking  from  Death.]  —  Campbell 

"  Yet  half  I  hear  the  parting  spirit  sigh, 

*  It  is  a  dread  and  awful  thing  to  die !  '  — 

Mysterious  worlds,  untravelled  by  the  sun,  — 

Where  Time's  far-wTandering  tide  has  never  run,— 

From  your  unfathomed  shades,  and  viewless  spheres, 

A  warning  comes,  unheard  by  other  ears. 

'T  is  Heaven's  commanding  trumpet,  long  and  loud, 


EXERCISES   IN    U  ASPIRATED    QUALITY.  263 

Like  Sinai's  thunder  pealing  from  the  cloud  ! 
While  Nature  hears,  with  terror-mingled  trust, 
The  shock  that  hurls  her  fabric  to  the  dust , 
And,  like  the  trembling  Hebrew,  when  he  trod 
The  roaring  waves,  and  called  upon  his  God, 
With  mortal  terrors  clouds  immortal  bliss, 
And  shrieks,  and  hovers,  o'er  the  dark  abyss !  " 

4.  —  Awe,  extending  to  Fear:  with  still  stronger  "  aspiration 
[From  a  Russian  Hymn.]  —  Bowring. 
"  It  thunders !     Sons  of  dust,  in  reverence  bow  \ 
Ancient  of  days !  thou  speakest  from  above  : 
Thy  right  hand  wields  the  bolt  of  terror  now ; 
That  hand  which  scatters  peace  and  joy  and  love. 
Almighty  !  trembling  like  a  timid  child, 
I  hear  Thy  awful  voice,  —  alarmed,  afraid, 
I  see  the  flashes  of  Thy  lightning  wild, 
And  in  the  very  grave  would  hide  my  head !  " 

6,—  Horror  and  Fear:  the  effect  transcending  that  of  Awe;  (hi 
"  aspiration  "  nearly  a  whisper, 
Macbeth,  [meditating  the  murder  of  Duncan.]  —  SJiakspearc, 
"  Now  o'er  the  one  half  world 
Nature  seems  dead  ;  and  wicked  dreams  abuse 
The  curtained  sleep  ;  now  witchcraft  celebrates 
Pale  Hecate's  offerings  ;  and  withered  murder, 
Alarumed  by  his  sentinel,  the  wolf, 
Whose  howl 's  his  watch,  thus  with  his  stealthy  pace, 
Towards  his  design 

Moves  like  a  ghost.  —  Thou  sure  and  firm-set  earth ! 
Hear  not  my  steps,  which  way  they  walk ;  for  fear 
The  very  stones  prate  of  my  whereabout, 
And  take  the  present  horror  from  the  time, 
Which  now  suits  with  it." 

II.  — "  expulsive  "  utterance. 

1  .—-Horror  and  Amazement :  "  aspiration"  increased  by  "  expulsion  u 

("  Pectoral  Quality.") 

Hamlet,  [to  the  ghost  of  his   Father.] — Shakspcart. 

"  What  may  this  mean, 

That  thou,  dead  corse,  again,  in  complete  steel, 


264  APPENDIX. 

Revisitst  thus  the  glimpses  of  the  moon, 
Making  night  hideous ;  and  we  fools  of  nature 
So  horridly  to  shake  our  disposition 
With  thoughts  beyond  the  reaches  of  our  souls?  " 

2.  —  Horror  and  Terror :  effect  still  farther  increasea 

Clarence,  [relating  his  dream.] — Shakspeare 

"  Oh !  I  have  passed  a  miserable  night, 
So  full  of  fearful  dreams,  of  ugly  sights, 
That,  as  I  am  a  Christian  faithful  man, 
I  would  not  spend  another  such  a  night, 
Though  't  were  to  buy  a  world  of  happy  days 
So  full  of  dismal  terror  was  the  time ! 

"  My  dream  was  lengthened  after  life :—» 

Oh !  then  began  the  tempest  to  my  soul ! 

"  With  that,  methought,  a  legion  of  foul  f.ends 
Environed  me,  and  howled  in  mine  ears 
Such  hideous  cries,  that,  with  the  very  noise 
I  trembling  waked,  and,  for  a  season  after, 
Could  not  believe  but  that  I  was  in  hell ; 
Such  terrible  impression  made  my  dream !  " 

3.  —  Fear. 
(Whispering  Voice :   "  Guttural  Quality .") 

Caliban,  [conducting  Stephano  and  Trinculo  to  the  cell  of  Peo» 

pero.]  —  Shakspeare. 

"  Pray  you  tread  softly,  —  that  the  blind  mole  may  not 
Hear  a  foot  fall :  we  are  now  near  his  cell 

Speak  softly ! 
All 's  hushed  as  midnight  yet. 

See'st  thou  here? 
This  is  the  mouth  o'  the  cell :  no  noise !  and  enter 

4.  —  Fear  and  Alarm. 

(Forcible  Half- Whisper :  "Pectoral  Quality.") 

Alonzo,  [wno,  WITH  Gonzalo,  IS  suddenly  awarened  by  the  inter- 
vention of  Ariel,  and  finds  the  conspirators,  Sebastian  an* 
Antonio,  with  their  swords  drawn.]  — Shakspeare. 

u  Why,  how  now,  ho !  —  awake  ?  —  Why  are  you  drawn  * 


EXERCISES    IN    "  ASPIRATED   QUALITY."  265 

Wherefore  this  ghastly  looking  ? 

Gonzalo.     What's  the  matter! 

Sebastian.     Whiles  we  stood  here,  securing  your  repose* 
Even  now,  we  heard  a  hollow  burst  of  bellowing 
Like  bulls  or  rather  lions :  did  it  not  wake  you? 
It  struck  mine  ear  most  terribly. 

Antonio.    Oh !  't  was  a  din  to  fright  a  monster's  ear : 
To  make  an  earthquake  !  — sure,  it  was  the  roar 
Of  a  whule  herd  of  lions !  "  , 

III.  —  "  EXPLOSIVE  "    UTTERANCE. 

("  Guttural  and  Pectoral  Quality.") 

1 .  —  Hatred. 

Shylock,  [regarding  Antonio.] 

"  How  like  a  fawning  publican  he  looks ! 

I  hate  him  for  he  is  a  Christian  ; 

But  more,  for  that,  in  low  simplicity, 

He  lends  out  money  gratis,  and  brings  down 

The  rate  of  usuance  with  us  here  in  Venice. 

If'I  can  catch  him  once  upon  the  hip, 

I  will  feed  fat  the  ancient  grudge  I  bear  him ! 

He  hates  our  sacred  nation  ;  and  he  rails, 

Even  there  where  merchants  most  do  congregate, 

On  me,  my  bargains,  and  my  well- won  thrift, 

Which  he  calls  interest.  —  Cursed  be  my  tribe, 

If  I  forgive  him!  " 

2.  —  Scorn  and  Abhorrence. 

("  Guttural  and  Pectoral  Quality.") 

Masaniello,  [in  reply  to  the  base  suggestions  of  Genutno." 

"  I  would  that  now 
I  could  forget  the  monk  who  stands  before  me ; 
For  he  is  like  the  accursed  and  crafty  snake ! 
Hence  !  from  my  sight !  — Thou  Satan,  get  behind  me 
Go  from  my  sight !  —  I  hate  and  I  despise  thee ! 
These  were  thy  pious  hopes  ;  and  I,  forsooth, 
W  as  in  thy  hands  a  pipe  to  play  upon  ; 
And  at  thy  music  my  poor  soul  to  death 
Should  dance  before  thee !  ■ 

23 


266  APPENDIX. 

Thou  standst  at  length  hefore  me  undisguised,  — 
Of  all  earth's  grovelling  crew  the  most  accursed. 
Thou  worm !  thou  viper  !  —  to  thy  native  earth 
Return !  —  Away !  —  Thou  art  too  base  for  man 
To  tread  upon.  — Thou  scum !  thou  reptile !  " 

3.  — Revenge. 

("  Guttural  and  Pectoral  Quality  .") 

Shy'-ock,  [referring  to  the  pound  of  flesh,  the  penalty  attached 
to  Antonio's  bond.] — Shakspeare. 

1  ( If  it  will  feed  nothing  else  it  will  feed  my  revenge.  He  hath  dis- 
graced me,  and  hindered  me  of  half  a  million ;  laughed  at  my  losses, 
mocked  at  my  gains,  scorned  my  nation,  thwarted  my  bhrgams, 
cooled  my  friends,  heated  my  enemies.  And  what 's  his  reason?  I 
am  a  Jew !  Hath  not  a  Jew  eyes  ?  Hath  not  a  Jew  hands,  organ's, 
dimensions,  senses,  affections,  passions?  Is  he  not  fed  with  the 
same  food,  hurt  with  the  same  weapons,  subject  to  the  same  diseases, 
healed  by  the  same  means,  warmed  and  cooled  by  the  same  summer 
and  winter,  as  a  Christian"  is?  If  you  stab  us,  do  we  not  bleed?  If 
you  tickle  us,  do  we  not  laugh?  If  you  poison  us,  do  we  not  die? 
And  if  you  wrong  us,  shall  we  not  revenge  ?  If  we  are  like  you  in 
the  rest,  we  will  resemble  you  in  that.  If  a  Jew  wrong  a  Christian, 
what  is  his  humility  ?  Revenge.  If  a  Christian  wrong  a  Jew,  what 
should  his  sufferance  be  by  Christian  example?  Why,  revenge. 
The  villany  you  teach  me,  I  will  execute  ;  and  it  shall  go  hard,  but  I 
will  better  the  instruction." 

4  — Hatred,  Rage,  Horror. 

("  Guttural  and  Pectoral  Quality :"  fierce  "  aspiration.") 

Satan,  [in  Soliloquy.]  —  Milton. 
"  Be  then  his  love  accursed  !  since  love  or  hate, 
To  me  alike,  it  deals  eternal  woe. 
Nay,  cursed  be  thou !  since  against  his  thy  will 
Chose  freely  what  it  now  so  justly  rues. 
Me  miserable  !  which  way  shall  I  fly 
Infinite  wrath  and  infinite  despair  ? 
Which  way  I  fly  is  Hell,  —  myself  am  Hell ; 
And  in  the  lowest  deep,  a  lower  deep, 
Still  threatening  to  devour  me,  opens  wide, 
To  which  the  Hell  I  suffer  seems  a  Heaven ' 


EXERCISES   IN   FORCE.  267 

5. — Horror,  Terror,  and  Alarm. 

("Pectoral  Quality.") 

Macbeth,  [to  the  giiost  of  Banquo.] — Shakspeare. 

"  Avaunt !  and  quit  my  sight !    Let  the  earth  hide  thee ! 
Thy  bones  are  marrowless,  thy  blood  is  cold : 
Thou  hast  no  speculation  in  those  eyes 
Wliich  thou  dost  glare  with ! 

"  Hence,  horrible  shadow ! 
Unreal  mockery,  hence !  " 

EXERCISES  IN  FORCE. 

I.  — *  M  SUPPRESSED  "   FORCE. 

1. — Whispering. 

("Effusive"  Utterance.) 

Pathos. 

pyiNG  Request.]  — Mrs.  Hemans. 

u  Leave  me !  —  thy  footstep  with  its  lightest  sound, 

The  very  shadow  of  thy  waving  hair, 
Wakes  in  my  soul  a  feeling  too  profound, 

Too  strong  for  aught  that  lives  and  dies,  to  bear :  — 
Oh !  bid  the  conflict  cease !  " 

("  Expulsive  "  utterance.) 

Rapture. 

[From  the  Dying  Christian.]  —  Pope. 

•'  Hark !  they  whisper,  —  angels  say, 
4  Sister  spirit !  come  away ! ' ' ' 

("  Explosive  "  utterance.) 

Terror. 

[From  Byron's  lines  on  the  eve  of  "Waterloo] 

—  "  The  foe !  they  come,  they  come !  " 

uSiivp~essed  torce  is  not  limited  exclusively  to  the  forms  of  the  whisper 
or  the  half-whisper.  Still,  it  is  usually  found  in  one  or  other  of  these  ;  and, 
on  this  account,  although  sometimes  intensely  earnest  and  energetic  in  the 
expression  of  feeling,  it  is  a  gradation  of  utterance  which,  in  point  of  "  vo- 
cnlity,"  ranks  below  even  the  : moderate"  and  "subdued"  forms  of  "pure 
tone."    We  regard,  at  present,  its  value  in  vocal  force,  —  not  in  "expres- 


268  APPENDIX 

Half-whisper. 

f«  Effusive  "  utterance.) 

Awe. 

[From  the  Fate  of  Macgregor.]  —  Hogg. 

M  They  oared  the  broad  Lomond,  so  still  and  serene ; 
And  deep  in  her  bosom  how  awful  the  scene ! 
Over  mountains  inverted  the  blue  water  curled, 
And  rocked  them  o'er  skies  of  a  far  nether  world !  " 

("  Expulsive  "  utterance.) 
Fear. 

M  Jbew  minutes  had  passed,  "ere  they  spied  on  the  stream 

A  skiff  sailing  light,  where  a  lady  did  seem : 

Her  sail  was  a  web  of  the  gossamer's  loom,  — 

The  glow-worm  her  wake-light,  the  rainbow  her  boom ; 

A  dim  rayless  beam  was  her  prow,  and  her  mast 

Like  wold-fire  at  midnight,  that  glares  o'er  the  waste !  " 

("  Explosive  "  utterance.) 

Terror. 

"  The  fox  fled  in  terror ;  the  eagle  awoke, 

As  slumbering  he  dozed  in  the  shelve  of  the  rock ;  — 

Astonished,  to  hide  in  the  moonbeam  he  flew, 

And  screwed  the  night-heaven,  till  lost  in  the  blue ! " 

*     II.  -— *  "  SUBDUED  "    FORCE 

("Pure  tone:"  "Effusive"  utterance.) 

1.  — Pathos. 

[From  the  Death  of  Korner.]  —  Mrs.  Hemans. 

*  It  was  thy  spirit,  brother !  which  had  made 
The  bright  world  glorious  to  her  youthful  eye, 

Since  first,  in  childhood,  'midst  the  vines  ye  played, 
And  sent  glad  singing  through  the  free  blue  sky. 

1  The  degree  of  force  implied  in  the  epithet  "subdued,"  is  equivalent,  in 
general,  to  that  which,  in  music,  would  be  indicated  by  the  term  "piano," 
and  which  suggests  an  obvious  softening-  of  the  voice  from  even  its  moderate 
or  ordinary  energy.  Pathos,  solemnity,  and  tranquillity,  when  so  arranged 
in  succession,  imply  a  slight  increase  of  energy  at  every  stage.  But  all  three 
lie  still  inferior  to  "  moderate  "  or  ordinary  force. 


EXERCISES   IN   FORCE.  269 

Ye  were  but  two,  —  and  when  that  spirit  passed. 
Woe  to  the  one,  the  last ! 

"  Woe,  yet  not  long ;  —  she  lingered  but  to  trace 
Thine  image  from  the  image  in  her  breast, 

Once,  once  again  to  see  that  buried  face 
But  smile  upon  her,  ere  she  went  to  rest. 

Too  sad  a  smile  !  its  living  light  was  o'er,— 
It  answered  hers  no  more. 

*'  The  earth  grew  silent  when  thy  voice  departed, 
The  home  too  lonely  whence  thy  step  had  fled ;  — 

What  then  was  left  for  her,  the  faithful-hearted !  — 
Death,  death,  —  to  still  the  yearning  for  the  dead. 

Softly  she  perished :  — be  the  Flower  deplored 
Here  with  the  Lyre  and  Sword!  " 

2.  —  Solemnity. 
[Death.]  —  Bryant. 
"  Leaves  have  their  time  to  fall, 
And  flowers  to  wither  at  the  north  wind's  breath, 

And  stars  to  set ;  —  but  all, 
Thou  hast  all  seasons  for  thine  own,  O  Death ! 

"  We  know  when  moons  shall  wane, 
When  summer  birds  from  far  shall  cross  the  sea, 

When  autumn's  hue  shall  tinge  the  golden  grain :  — 
But  who  shall  teach  us  when  to  look  for  thee?  " 

3.  —  Tranquillity. 
[E  vening  .]  —  Moir. 
"  'Tis  twilight  now: 
How  deep  is  the  tranquillity !  —  The  trees 
Are  slumbering  through  their  multitude  of  boughs, 
Even  to  the  leaflet  on  the  frailest  twig ! 
A  twilight  gloom  pervades  the  distant  hills  , 
An  azure  softness  mingling  with  the  sky  " 

4.  —  Profound  Repose. 
[Aspect  of  Death:  From  Byron's  description  of  G&bkck.J 

"  He  who  hath  bent  him  o'er  the  dead, 
Ere  the  first  day  of  death  is  fled*  — 
23* 


270  APPENDIX. 

The  first  dark  da)  jf  nothingness, 

The  last  of  danger  and  distress,  — 

(Before  Decay's  effacing  fingers 

Have  swept  the  lines  where  Beauty  lingers,) 

And  marked  the  mild  angelic  air,  — 

The  rapture  of  repose  that 's  there,  — 

The  fixed  yet  tender  traits  that  streak 

The  languor  of  the  placid  cheek, 

And,  —  but  for  that  sad,  shrouded  eye, 

That  fires  not,  —  wins  not,  —  weeps  not,  —  now,  — 

And  but  for  that  chill,  changeless  brow 
Whose  touch  thrills  with  mortality, 
And  curdles  to  the  gazer's  heart, 
As  if  to  him  it  could  impart 
The  doom  he  dreads,  yet  dwells  upon,  — 
Yes,  —  but  for  these  and  these  alone, 
Some  moments,  —  ay,  —  one  treacherous  hour, 
He  still  might  doubt  the  tyrant's  power : 
So  fair, — so  calm,  so  softly  sealed, 
The  first — last  look  —  by  death  revealed !  " 

(l  "Orotund  quality:"  "Effusive"  utterance .) 

1.  —  Pathos  and  Sublimity. 

"VVolsey,  [on  his  downfall.]  — Shakspeare. 

"  Farewell,  a  long  farewell,  to  all  my  greatness ! 
This  is  the  state  of  man  :   To-day  he  puts  forth 
The  tender  leaves  of  hope,  to-morrow  blossoms, 
And  bears  his  blushing  honors  thick  upon  him : 
The  third  day  comes  a  frost,  a  killing  frost ; 
And,  —  when  he  thinks,  good  easy  man,  fuD  surety 
His  greatness  is  a  ripening,  —  nips  his  roo*  • 
And  then  he  falls  as  I  do.     I  have  ventured, — 
Like  little  wanton  boys  that  swim  on  bladdeis,  — 
This  many  summers,  in  a  sea  of  glory, 
But  far  beyond  my  depth  :  my  high-blown  pride 
At  length  broke  under  me,  and  now  has  left  mo. 

i  The  effect  of"  orotund  quality,"  as  transcending  "  pure  tone,"  is  that  cf  a 
deeper,  filler,  rounder,  and  more  resonant  utterance,  —  implying,  therefore,  an 
increase  of  force,  although  still  a  "subdued,"  or  softened  force,  when  com- 
pared with  even  an  ordinary  x?gree.  In  music,  the  distinction  would  still  be 
that  of  "piano." 


EXERCISES   IN    FORCE.  271 

Weary  and  old  with  service,  to  the  mercy 
Of  a  rude  stream  that  must  forever  hide  me  !  n 

2.  —  Solemnity  and  Sublimity. 

[Immortality.]  —  Dana. 

"Oh!  listen,  man! 
A  voice  within  us  speaks  that  startling  word, 
'  Man,  thou  shall  never  die ! '     Celestial  voices 
Hymn  it  unto  our  souls ;  according  harps, 
By  angel  fingers  touched,  when  the  mild  stars 
Of  morning  sang  together,  sound  forth  still 
The  song  of  our  great  immortality : 
Thick-clustering  orbs,  and  this  our  fair  domain, 
The  tall,  dark  mountains,  and  the  deep-toned  seas, 
Join  in  this  solemn,  universal  song. 
Oh !  listen  ye,  our  spirits ;  drink  it  in 
From  all  the  air.     'T  is  in  the  gentle  moonlight ; 
'T  is  floating  midst  Day's  setting  glories ;  Night, 
Wrapped  in  her  sable  robe,  with  silent  step 
Comes  to  our  bed,  and  breathes  it  in  our  ears  : 
Night,  and  the  dawn,  bright  day,  and  thoughtful  eve, 
All  time,  all  bounds,  the  limitless  expanse, 
As  one  vast  mystic  instrument,  are  touched 
By  an  unseen,  living  Hand ;  and  conscious  chords 
Quiver  with  joy  in  this  great  jubilee. 
The  dying  hear  it ;  and,  as  sounds  of  earth 
Grow  dull  and  distant,  wake  their  passing  souls 
To  mingle  in  this  heavenly  harmony.' ' 

3.  — Tranquillity  and  Sublimity. 

[Night.]  — Byrorts  Marino  Fahen. 

"  Around  me  are  the  stars  and  waters,— 
Worlds  mirrored  in  the  ocean  ;  — 
And  the  great  element,  which  is  to  space 
What  ocean  is  to  earth,  spreads  its  blue  depths, 
Softened  with  the  first  breathings  of  the  spring  ; 
The  high  moon  sails  upon  her  beauteous  way, 
Serenely  smoothing  o'er  the  lofty  walls 
Of  those  tall  piles  and  sea-girt  palaces, 
Whose  porphyry  pillars  and  whose  costly  fronts, 


272  APPENDIX 

Fraught  with  the  orient  spoils  of  many  marbles, 

Like  altars  ranged  along  the  broad  canal, 

Seem  each  a  trophy  of  some  mighty  deed ; 

Reared  up  from  out  the  waters,  scarce  less  strangely 

Than  those  more  massy  and  mysterious  giants 

Of  architecture,  those  Titanian  fabrics, 

Which  point  in  Egypt's  plains  to  times  that  have 

Nc  other  record." 

4.  —  Reverence. 

[From  the  Hymn  of  the  Seasons.] — Thomson 

"  These,  as  they  change,  Almighty  Father !  these 
Are  but  the  varied  God.     The  rolling  year 


Is  full  of  Thee. 

And  oft  Thy  voice  in  dreadful  thunder  speaks  ; 
And  oft  at  dawn,  deep  noon,  or  falling  eve, 
By  brooks  and  groves,  in  hollow- whispering  gales.  — 
In  Winter,  awful  Thou !  with  clouds  and  storms 
Around  Thee  thrown,  tempest  o'er  tempest  rolled,— 
Majestic  darkness !    On  the  whirlwind's  wing, 
Riding  sublime,  Thou  bidd'st  the  world  adore, 
And  humblest  Nature,  with  Thy  northern  blast.'' 

III. l  "  MODERATE  "    FORCE. 

("  Pure  tone :"  "  Expulsive  "  utterance.) 

"Grave"  Style. 

[Undue  Indulge  nce  .]  — Alison 

11  The  inordinate  love  of  pleasure  is  equally  fatal  to  happiness  as  to 
virtue.  To  the  wise  and  virtuous,  to  those  who  use  the  pleasures 
of  life  only  as  a  temporary  relaxation,  as  a  resting-place  to  animate 
them  on  the  great  journey  on  which  they  are  travelling,  the  hours  of 
amusement  bring  real  pleasure  :  to  them  the  well  of  joy  is  ever  full ; 
while  to  those  who  linger  by  its  side,  its  waters  are  soon  dried  and 
exhausted. 

"  I  speak  not  now  of  those  bitter  waters  which  must  mingle  them- 
selves with  the  well  of  unhallowed  pleasure,  —  of  the  secret  re- 

1  The  term  "  moderate  "  is  generally  equivalent  to  "  mezzo,"  in  music.  It 
has  many  gradations,  however ;  of  which  "grave  "  is  the  softest.  The  suc- 
cessive steps  are  intimated  in  the  arrangement  of  th?  exercises. 


EXERCISES   IN   FORCE.  273 

proachcs  of  Accusing"  conscience,  —  of  the  sad  sense  of  shame  and 
dishonor,  —  and  of  that  degraded  spirit,  which  must  bend  itself 
beneath  the  scorn  of  the  world  :  I  speak  only  of  the  simple  and  natu- 
ral effect  of  unwise  indulgence  ;  —  that  it  renders  the  mind  callous  to 
enjoyment ;  and  that  even  though  the  *  fountain  were  full  of  water,' 
the  feverish  lip  is  incapable  of  satiating  its  thirst.  Alas !  here,  too, 
we  may  see  the  examples  of  human  folly :  we  may  see  around  us, 
everywhere,  the  fatal  effects  of  unrestrained  pleasure;  —  the  young, 
sickening  in  the  midst  of  every  pure  and  genuine  enjoyment ;  the 
mature  hastening,  with  hopeless  step,  to  fill  up  the  hours  of  a  vitiated 
being  ;  and,  what  is  still  more  wretched,  the  hoary  head  wandering 
in  the  way  of  folly,  and,  with  an  unhallowed  dotage,  returning  again 
tj  the  trifles  and  the  amusements  of  childhood." 

"Serious"  Style. 

[Influence  of  Learning.]  —  Moodie. 

"  If  learned  men  are  to  be  esteemed  for  the  assistance  they  give  to 
active  minds  in  their  schemes,  they  are  not  less  to  be  valued  for  their 
endeavors  to  give  them  a  right  direction,  and  moderate  their  too  great 
ardor.  The  study  of  history  will  teach  the  legislator  by  what  means 
states  have  become  powerful ;  and  in  the  private  citizen  it  will  incul- 
cate the  love  of  liberty  and  order.  The  writings  of  sages  point  out 
a  private  path  of  virtue,  and  show  that  the  best  empire  is  self-govern- 
ment, and  that  subduing  our  passions  is  the  noblest  of  conquests.'' 

"Animated,"  or  Lively,  Styie. 
[Cheerfulness.]  — Addison. 

"  The  cheerful  man  is  not  only  easy  in  his  thoughts,  but  a  perfect 
master  of  all  the  powers  and  faculties  of  the  soul :  his  imagination  is 
always  clear,  and  his  judgment  undisturbed  ;  his  temper  is  even  and 
unruffled,  whether  in  action  or  solitude.  He  comes  with  a  relish  to 
all  those  goods  which  Nature  has  provided  for  him,  tastes  all  the 
pleasures  of  the  creation  which  are  poured  about  him,  and  does  not 
feel  the  full  weight  of  those  accidental  evils  which  may  befall  him. 

"  A  cheerful  mind  is  not  only  disposed  to  be  affable  and  obliging, 
but  raises  the  same  good  humor  in  those  who  come  within  its  influ- 
ence. A  man  finds  himself  pleased,  he  knows  not  why,  with  the 
cheerfulness  of  his  companion :  it  is  like  a  sudden  sunshine,  that 
awakens  a  secret  delight  in  the  mind,  without  her  attending  to  it. 
The  heart  rejoices  of  its  own  accord,  and  naturally  flows  out  into 


274  APPENDIX. 

friendship  and  benevolence  towards  the  person  who  has  su  kin  11  j 
an  effect  upon  it." 

"Gay,"  or  Brisk,  Style. 

[Habits  of  Expression.]  —  Spectator. 

*  Next  to  those  whose  elocution  is  absorbed  in  action,  and  who 
converse  chiefly  with  their  arms  and  legs,  we  may  consider  the  pro- 
fessed speakers,  —  and,  first,  the  emphatical,  —  who  squeeze  and 
press  and  ram  down  every  syllable  with  excessive  vehemence  and 
energy.  These  orators  are  remarkable  for  their  distinct  elocution 
and  force  of  expression  :  they  dwell  on  the  important  particles  of  and 
the,  and  the  significant  conjunction  and,  — which  they  seem  to  hawk 
up,  wit!  mitch  difficulty,  out  of  their  own  throats,  and  to  cram,  — 
with  no  ess  pain,  —  into  the  ears  of  their  auditors.  —  These  should 
be  suffered  only  to  syringe,  (as  it  were,)  the  ears  of  a  deaf  man, 
through  a  hearing  trumpet ;  though  I  must  confess  that  I  am  equally 
offended  with  the  whisperers,  or  low  speakers,  who  seem  to  fancy  all 
their  acquaintance  deaf,  and  come  up  so  close  to  you,  that  they  may 
be  said  to  measure  noses  with  you.  —  I  would  have  these  oracular 
gentry  obliged  to  talk  at  a  distance,  through  a  speaking  trumpet,  or 
apply  their  lips  to  the  walls  of  a  whispering  gallery. — The  wits) 
who  will  not  condescend  to  utter  anything  but  a  bon  mot,  and  the 
whistlers,  or  tune-hummers,  who  never  talk  at  all,  may  be  joined 
very  agreeably  together  in  a  concert ;  and  to  these  '  tinkling  cym- 
bals •  I  would  also  add  the  '  sounding  brass,'  the  bawler,  who 
inquires  after  your  health  with  the  bellowing  of  a  town-crier." 

"Humorous"  Style. 

[The  Critic] — Sterne. 

"And  what  of  this  new  book  the  whole  world  makes  such  a  noise 
Ebout?  "  —  "  Oh !  't  is  out  of  all  plumb,  my  lord,  —  quite  an  irregdar 
thing !  — not  one  of  the  angles  at  the  four  corners  was  a  right  angle. 
I  had  my  rule  and  compasses,  my  lord,  in  my  pocket !  "  —  "  Excel- 
lent critic!  " 

"And  for  the  epic  poem  your  lordship  bid  me  look  at — upon  tak- 
ing the  length,  breadth,  height,  and  depth  of  it,  and  trying  them  at 
home  upon  an  exact  scale  of  Bossu's — 'tis  out,  my  lord,  in  every 
one  of  its  dimensions." — "Admirable  connoisseur! — And  did  you 
•tep  in  to  take  a  look  at  the  great  picture,  on  your  way  back?  "  — 
♦'Tia  a  melancholy  daub,  my  lord! — not  one  principle  of  the 


EXERCISES    IN    FORCE.  275 

•  pyramid,'  fn  anyone  group  !  —  and  what  a  price!  —  for  there  is 
nothing  of  the  coloring  of  Titian,  — the  expression  of  Rubens,  —  the 
grace  ot  Raphael,  —  the  purity  of  Domenichino,  —  the  corrcgiesciiy 
of  Corregio,  —  the  learning  of  Poussin, — the  airs  of  Guido, —  the 
taste  of  Caracci,  —  or  the  grand  contour  of  Angelo  !  " 

IV.  —  "  DECLAMATORY  "    FORCE. 

[The  American  Union.] — Webster. 

4  While  tne  Union  lasts,  we  have  high,  exciting,  gratifying  pros- 
pects spread  out  before  us,  for  us  and  for  our  children.  Beyond  that 
I  seek  not  to  penetrate  the  veil.  God  grant  that,  in  my  day,  at  least, 
that  curtain  may  not  rise  !  God  grant  that  on  my  vision  never  may 
be  opened  what  lies  behind !  —  When  my  eyes  shall  be  turned  to 
oehold,  for  the  last  time,  the  sun  in  the  heaven,  may  I  not  see  him 
shining  on  the  broken  and  dishonored  fragments  of  a  once  glorious 
Union;  on  States  dissevered,  discordant,  belligerent;  —  on  a  land 
rent  with  civil  feuds,  or  drenched,  it  may  be,  in  fraternal  blood  !  Let 
their  last  feeble  and  lingering  glance  rather  behold  the  gorgeous 
ensign  of  the  republic,  now  known  and  honored  throughout  the 
earth,  and  still  '  full  high  advanced,'  — its  arms  and  trophies  stream- 
ing in  their  original  lustre,  —  not  a  stripe  erased  or  polluted,  nor  a 
single  star  obscured ;  —  bearing,  for  its  motto,  no  such  miserable 
interrogatory  as,  '  What  is  all  this  worth  1 '  nor  those  other  words  of 
delusion  and  folly,  '  Liberty  first,  and  Union  afterwards,' — but 
everywhere  spread  all  over,  in  characters  of  living  light,  blazing  on 
all  its  ample  folds,  as  they  float  over  the  sea  and  over  the  land,  and 
in  every  wind  under  the  whole  heavens,  that  other  sentiment,  dear  to 
every  true  American  heart,  —  *  Liberty  and  Union,  now  and  forever, 
one  and  inseparable  ! '  " 

Scorn,  Abhorrence,  and  Detestation, 

[Helen  Macgregor,  to  the  spy,  Morris.] — Scott. 

<;  1  could  have  bid  you  live,  had  life  been  to  you  the  same  weary 
and  wasting  burden  that  it  is  to  me,  —  that  it  is  to  every  noble  and 
generous  mind.  —  But  you,  wretch !  you  could  creep  through  the 
world  unaffected  by  its  various  disgraces,  its  ineffable  miseries,  its 
constantly  accumulating  masses  of  crime  and  sorrow;  —  you  could 
live  and  enjoy  yourself,  while  the  noble-minded  are  betrayed,-— 
while  nameless  and  birthless  villains  tread  on  the  neck  of  the  brave 
and  long-descended  :  —  you  could  enjoy  yourself,  like  a  butcher's  dog 


276  APPENDIX. 

in  the  shambles,  battening  on  garbage,  while  the  slaughter  *f  *fe  * 
brave  went  on  around  you!  This  enjoyment  you  shall  not  liv*to 
partake  of:  you  shall  die,  base  dog !  — and  that  before  yon  cloud  hi» 
passed  over  the  sun  !  " 

V. "  IMPASSIONED  n     FORCE. 

("  Aspirated  pectoral  quality :"  ft  Explosive  orotund'  } 

Anger  and  Threatening. 

Catii;:ne;  [addressing  the  Senate.]  —  Croly. 

*  Here  I  devote  your  senate !  I  've  had  wrongs, 

To  stir  a  fever  in  the  blood  of  age, 

Or  make  the  infant's  sinews  strong  as  steel. 

This  day 's  the  birth  of  sorrows  !  —  This  hour's  work 

Will  breed  proscriptions.  —  Look  to  your  hearths  my  lord    \ 

For  there  henceforth  shall  sit,  for  household  gocU, 

Shapes  hot  from  Tartarus !  —  all  shames  and  crimes ;  — 

Wan  Treachery,  with  his  thirsty  dagger  drawn  ; 

Suspicion,  poisoning  his  brother's  cup  ; 

Naked  Rebellion,  with  the  torch  and  axe, 

Making  his  wild  sport  of  your  blazing  thrones ; 

Till  Anarchy  come  down  on  you  like  Night, 

And  Massacre  seal  Rome's  eternal  grave !  " 

Indignant  and  Enthusiastic  Address, 

("Expulsive  orotund.") 

Rienzi,  [to  the  People.] — Miss  Mitford. 

"  Rouse,  ye  Romans  !  —  Rouse,  ye  slaves ! 
Have  ye  brave  sons  ?     Look  in  the  next  fierce  brawl 
To  see  them  die.     Have  ye  fair  daughters  ?     Look 
To  see  them  live,  torn  from  your  arms,  distained, 
Dishonored  ;  and,  if  ye  dare  call  for  justice, 
Be  answered  by  the  lash.     Yet,  this  is  Rome, 
That  sat  on  her  seven  hills,  and  from  her  throne 
Of  beauty  ruled  the  world  !     Yet,  we  are  Romans, 
Why  in  that  elder  day,  to  be  a  Roman 
Was  greater  than  a  king !  —  And  once  again,  — 
Hear  me,  ye  walls  that  echoed  to  the  tread 
Of  either  Brutus !  —  Once  again,  I  swear, 


MISCELLANEOUS    EXERCISES.  277 

The  eternal  city  shall  he  free !  her  sons 
Shall  walk  with  princes !  " 

VI.  —  Shouting. 

("Expulsive  orotund:"  intense  force.; 

Rjenzi,  [to  the  Conspirators.]  —  Ibid. 

"  Hark !  —  the  bell,  the  bell ! 
The  knell  of  tyranny,  —  the  mighty  voice 
That  to  the  city  and  the  plain,  to  earth 
And  listening  heaven,  proclaims  the  glorious  tale 
Of  Rome  re-born,  and  freedom !  " 

VII.  —  Shouting  and  Calling. 

("Expulsive  orotund,"  "pure  tone,"  intense  "sustained"  force. 

[Macduff's  Outcry  on  the  murder  of  Duncan.] — Shakspeare 

"  Awake !  awake! 
Ring  the  alarm-bell :  —  Murder !  and  treason !  — 
Banquo,  and  Donalbain !    Malcolm !  awake !  " 


MISCELLANEOUS  PIECES. 

EXTRACTS  FOR  GENERAL  PRACTICE. 

Exercise  I.  —  A  Sea-voyage. — Irving. 

[This  extract  exemplifies,  in  its  diction,  the  forms  of  narrative,  de+ 
scriptive,  and  didactic  style.  The  emotions  arising  from  the  subject 
and  the  language,  are  those  of  tranquillity,  wonder,  admiration t 
pathos,  and  awe. 

The  first  ef  these  emotions  prevails  through  the  first  two  para- 
graphs, and  produces,  in  the  vocal  "  expression,"  "  pure  tone," 
decreasing  f, .'.  ad  u  ally  from  gentle  "  expulsion  "  to  "effusion:"  the 
"  force  "  is  "  moderate  :"  the  stress,  at  first,  "  unimpassioned  radi- 
cal,"  gradually  changing  to  a  soft  "median:"  the  "pitch"  is  on 
"  middle  notes,"  —  the  "  melody,"  "  diatonic,"  in  prevalent  "  inter- 
vals of  the  second,"  varying  from  the  "  simple  concrete  "  to  the 
"wave:"  the  "movement"  is  "slow,"  —  the  pauses  moderately 
long,  —  the  "  rhythm  "  requires  an  attentive  but  delicate  marking. 

Wonder  is  the  predominating  emotion  expressed  in  the  third  para- 
b  »h.  It  produces  a  slight  deviation  from  perfect  "  purity  of  tone  " 
towards  "  aspiration  :"  the  "  force  "  increases  gently,  after  the  first 
sentence  :  a  slight  tinge  of  "  vanishing  stress  "  pervades  the  first  sen- 

24 


278  APPENDIX. 

tence;  an  ample  "  median  "  prevails  in  the  first  two  clauses  of  the 
second,  and  a  vivid  "  radical  "  in  the  third  clause  ;  and,  in  the  third 
sentence,  a  stronger  "vanishing  stress"  than  before,  becomes  dis- 
tinctly audible,  in  proportion  to  the  increasing  emphasis :  the  "  pitch  ■ 
of  this  paragraph  is  moderately  M  low,"  at  first,  and  gradually  de- 
scends, throughout,  as  far  as  to  the  last  semicolon  of  the  paragraph ; 
—  the  "  slides  "  are  principally  downward  "  seconds  and  thirds  :"  the 
"  movement "  is  "  slow,"  excepting  in  the  last  clause  of  the  second 
sentence,  in  which  it  is  "lively;"  the  pauses  are  long;  and  the 
"  rhythm"  still  requires  perceptible  marking. 

Admiration  is  the  prompting  emotion  in  the  "  expression"  of  the 
fourth  paragraph.  —  After  the  first  sentence,  which  is  neutral  in 
effect,  the  voice  passes  from  "pure  tone"  to  "orotund,"  as  the 
"  quality"  required  in  the  union  of  beauty  and  grandeur:  the  force 
passes  from  "  moderate  "  to  "  declamatory  :"  the  "  stress"  becomes 
bold  "  median  expulsion  :"  the  "  middle  pitch,"  inclining  to  "  low," 
for  dignity  of  effect;  and  downward  "thirds"  in  emphasis:  the 
"movement"  is  "moderate;"  the  pauses  correspondent;  and  the 
"  rhythm"  somewhat  strongly  marked. 

The  fifth  and  sixth  paragraphs  are  characterized,  in  "  expression," 
by  pathos  and  awe.  The  first  two  sentences  of  the  fifth  paiagraph, 
are  in  the  neutral  or  unirnpassioned  utterance  of  common  rarrative 
and  remark ;  the  next  three  sentences  introduce  an  increasing  effect 
of  the  "  pure  tone  "  of  pathos;  the  last  three  of  the  paragraph  aro 
characterized  by  the  expression  of  awe  carried  to  its  deepest  effect ; 
and  the  preceding  pure  tone,  therefore,  gives  way  to  "  aspiration," 
progressively,  to  the  end  of  the  paragraph.  The  "  force,"  in  the 
first  part  of  the  paragraph,  is  "  subdued  ;"  —  in  the  latter,  it  is  "  sup- 
pressed :"  the  "  stress  "  is  "  median,"  throughout,  —  gently  marked 
in  the  pathetic  part,  and  fully,  in  that  expressive  of  awe.  The 
"  pitch  "  is  on  "  middle  "  notes,  inclining  high  in  the  pathetic  expres- 
sion, and  "  low,"  descending  to  "  lowest,"  in  the  utterance  of  awe; 
the  "  melody  "  contains  a  few  slight  effects  of  "  semitone,"  on  the 
emphatic  words  in  the  pathetic  strain,  and  full  downward  IC  slides  " 
of  "  third  "  and  "  fifth,"  in  the  language  of  awe.  The  "  movement " 
is  "slow"  in  the  pathetic  part,  and  "very  slow"  in  the  utterance 
of  awe;  the  pauses  correspond  ;  and  the  "  rhythm  "  is  to  be  exactly 
kept  in  the  pauses  of  the  latter,  as  they  are  the  chief  source  of  effect. 

The  first  two  sentences  of  the  sixth  paragraph,  are  characterized 
by  the  expression  of  deep  pathos,  differing  from  that  of  the  first  part 
of  the  preceding  paragraph,  by  greater  force,  lower  notes,  fuller 
"stress,"  slower  "  movement,"  and  longer  pauses.  The  "  expres- 
sion" of  the  third  sentence,  passes  through  the  successive  stages  of 
apprehension,  ox  fear,  awe  and  horror,  —  marked  by  increasing  "  as- 
piration" and  force,  deepening  notes,  slower  "movement,"  and 
longer  pause,  so  as,  at  last,  to  reach  the  extreme  of  these  elements 
of  effect.  The  fourth  sentence  expresses  still  deeper  pathos  than 
before,  and  by  the  increased  effect  of  the  same  modes  of  utterance 
In  the  last  sentence,  in  which  awe  combines  with  pathos,  the  "  ex 
pression  "  becomes  yet  deeper  and  slowei  but  without  increase  of 
4<  fores." 


MISCELLANEOUS    EXERCISES.  279 

A  similar  analj  sis  should  be  performed  on  all  the  following  pieces 
previous  to  the  exercise  of  reading  them.  The  analogy  of  emotion 
exemplified  in  the  numerous  examples  contained  in  the  body  of  the 
book,  will  be  found  a  sufficiently  definite  guide  for  this  purpose.] 

To  an  American  visiting  Europe,  the  long  voyage  he  has  to  make 
is  an  excellent  preparative.  From  the  moment  you  lose  sight  of  the 
land  you  have  left,  all  is  vacancy,  until  you  step  on  the  opposite 
shore,  and  are  launched  at  once  into  the  bustle  and  novelties  of 
another  world. 

I  have  said  that  at  sea  all  is  vacancy.  I  should  correct  the  expres- 
sion. To  one  given  up  to  day-dreaming,  and  fond  of  losing  himself 
in  reveries,  a  sea-voyage  is  full  of  subjects  for  meditation  ;  but  then 
they  are  the  wonders  of  the  deep,  and  of  the  air,  and  rather  tend  to 
abstract  the  mind  from  worldly  themes.  I  delighted  to  loll  over  the 
quarter-railing,  or  climb  to  the  main-top  on  a  calm  day,  and  muse  for 
hours  together  on  the  tranquil  bosom  of  a  summer's  sea  ;  or  to  gaze 
upon  the  piles  of  golden  clouds  just  peering  above  the  horizon,  fancy 
them  some  fairy  realms,  and  people  them  with  a  creation  of  my  own  ; 
or  to  watch  the  gentle  undulating  billows  rolling  their  silver  volumes, 
as  if  to  die  away  on  those  happy  shores. 

There  was  a  delicious  sensation  of  mingled  security  and  awe,  with 
which  I  looked  down  from  my  giddy  height  on  the  monsters  of  the 
deep  at  their  uncouth  gambols :  shoals  of  porpoises  tumbling  about 
the  bow  of  the  ship ;  the  grampus  slowly  heaving  his  hilfre  form 
above  the  surface ;  or  the  rave im us  shark,  darting  like  a  spectre 
through  the  blue  waters.  My  imagination  would  conjure  up  all  thai 
I  had  heard  or  read  of  the  watdry  world  beneath  me  ;  of  the  finny 
herds  that  roam  its  fathomless  valleys ;  of  shapeless  monsters  that 
lurk  among  the  very  foundations  of  the  earth  ;  and  those  wild  phan- 
tasms that  swell  the  tales  of  fishermen  and  sailors. 

Sometimes  a  distant  sail  gliding  along  the  edge  of  the  ocean  would 
be  another  theme  of  idle  speculation.  How  interesting  this  fragment 
of  a  world  hastening  to  rejoin  the  great  mass  of  existence  !  What  a 
glorious  monument  of  human  invention,  that  has  thus  triumphed  over 
wind  and  wave  ;  has  brought  the  ends  of  the  earth  in  communion  ; 
has  established  an  interchange  of  blessings,  pouring  into  the  sterile 
regions  of  the  north  all  the  luxuries  of  the  south ;  diffused  the  light 
of  knowledge  and  the  charities  of  cultivated  life  ;  and  has  thus  bound 
togetiier  those  scattered  portions  of  the  human  race,  between  which 
nature  seemed  to  have  thrown  an  insurmountable  barrier ! 

We  one  day  descried  some  shapeless  object  drifting  at  a  distance. 
At  sea,  everything  that  breaks  the  monotony  of  the  surrounding 


280  APPENDIX. 

expanse,  attracts  attention.  It  proved  to  be  the  mast  of  a  dhip  tha 
must  have  been  completely  wrecked  ;  for  there  were  the  lemains  of 
handkerchiefs,  by  which  some  of  the  crew  had  fastened  themselves  te 
this  spar,  to  prevent  their  being  washed  off  by  the  waves.  There 
was  no  trace  by  which  the  name  of  the  ship  could  be  ascertained. 
The  wreck  had  evidently  drifted  about  for  many  months ;  clusters  of 
shell-fish  had  fastened  about  it,  and  long  sea-weeds  flaunted  at  it* 
Biles.  But  where,  thought  I,  is  the  crew?  Their  struggle  has  long 
been  over ;  —  they  have  gone  down  amidst  the  roar  of  the  tempest ; 
— their  bones  lie  whitening  in  the  caverns  of  the  deep.  Silence  — 
oblivion,  —  like  the  waves,  have  closed  over  them;  and  no  one  can 
tell  the  story  of  their  end. 

What  sighs  have  been  wafted  after  that  ship  !  what  prayers  offered 
up  at  the  deserted  fire-side  of  home !  How  often  has  the  mistress, 
the  wife,  and  the  mother,  pored  over  the  daily  news,  to  catch  some 
casual  intelligence  of  this  rover  of  the  deep !  How  has  expectation 
darkened  into  anxiety  —  anxiety  into  dread  —  and  dread  into  despair ! 
Alas !  not  one  memento  shall  ever  return  for  love  to  cherish.  All 
that  shall  ever  be  known  is,  that  she  sailed  from  her  port,  "  and  was 
never  heard  of  more ." 

II.  —  Death  of  Morris. —  Scott. 

(Vivid  Narrative,  exemplifying,  after  the  introductory  sentence,  Sym- 
pathetic Horror,  then  successively,  Terror,  Scorn,  Revenge,  Horror, 
and  Awe.) 

It  was  under  the  burning  influence  of  revenge  that  the  wife  of 
Macgregor  commanded  that  the  hostage,  exchanged  for  her  hus- 
band's safety,  should  be  brought  into  her  presence.  I  believe  her 
sons  had  kept  this  unfortunate  wretch  out  of  her  sight,  for  fear  of  the 
consequences ;  but  if  it  was  so,  their  humane  precaution  only  post- 
poned his  fate.  They  dragged  forward,  at  her  summons,  a  wretch, 
already  half  dead  with  terror,  in  whose  agonized  features,  I  recog- 
nized, to  my  horror  and  astonishment,  my  old  acquaintance  Morcis. 

He  fell  prostrate  before  the  female  chief  with  an  effort  to  clasp  her 
knees,  from  which  she  drew  back,  as  if  his  touch  had  been  pollution, 
so  that  all  he  could  do  in  token  of  the  extremity  of  his  humiliation, 
was  to  kiss  the  hem  of  her  plaid.  I  never  heard  entreaties  for  life 
poured  forth  with  such  agony  of  spirit.  The  ecstasy  of  fear  was 
such,  that,  instead  of  paralyzing  his  tongue,  as  on  ordinary  occasions 
it  even  rendered  him  eloquent ;  and,  with  cheeks  as  pale  as  ashes 
hands  compressed  in  agony,  eyes  that  seemed  to  be  taking  their  last 


MISCELLANEOUS    EXERCISES.  '        281 

»ook  of  all  mortal  objects,  he  protested,  with  the  deepest  oaths,  his 
total  ignorance  of  any  design  on  the  life  of  Rob  Roy,  whom  he  swore 
he  loved  and  honored  as  his  own  soul.  —  In  the  inconsistency  of  his 
terror,  he  said,  lie  was  but  the  agent  of  others,  and  he  muttered  the 
name  of  Rashleigh.  —  He  prayed  but  for  life  —  for  life  he  would  give 
all  he  had  in  the  world  ;  —  it  was  but  life  he  asked  —  life,  if  it  were 
to  be  prolonged  under  tortures  and  privations;  —  he  asked  only 
breath  though  it  should  be  drawn  in  the  damps  of  the  lowest  caverns 
of  their  hills.  * 

It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  scorn,  the  loathing,  and  contempt, 
with  which  the  wife  of  Macgregor  regarded  this  wretched  petitioner 
for  the  poor  boon  of  existence. 

'  I  could  have  bid  you  live,"  she  said,  "  had  life  been  to  you  the 
same  weary  and  wasting  burden  that  it  is  to  me  —  that  it  is  to  every 
noble  and  generous  mind.  —  But  you  —  wretch!  you  could  creep 
through  the  world  unaffected  by  its  various  disgraces,  its  ineffable 
miseries,  its  constantly  accumulating  masses  of  crime  and  sorrow,  -— 
you  could  live  and  enjoy  yourself,  while  the  noble-minded  are 
betrayed,  —  while  nameless  and  birthless  villains  tread  on  the  neck 
of  the  brave  and  long-descended,  —  you  could  enjoy  yourself,  like  a 
butcher's  dog  in  the  shambles,  battening  on  garbage,  while  the 
slaughter  of  the  brave  went  on  around  you !  This  enjoyment  you 
shall  not  live  to  partake  of;  you  shall  die,  base  dog,  and  that  before 
yon  cloud  has  passed  over  the  sun." 

She  gave  a  brief  command,  in  Gaelic,  to  her  attendants,  two  of 
whom  seized  upon  the  prostrate  suppliant,  and  hurried  him  to  the 
brink  of  a  cliff  which  overhung  the  flood.  He  set  up  the  most  pierc- 
ing and  dreadful  cries  that  fear  ever  uttered  —  I  may  well  term  them 
dreadful ;  for  they  haunted  my  sleep  for  years  afterwards.  As  the 
murderers,  or  executioners,  call  them  as  you  will,  dragged  him  along, 
he  recognized  me  even  in  that  moment  of  horror,  and  exclaimed,  in 
the  last  articulate  words  I  ever  heard  him  utter,  "  0,  Mr.  Osbaldis- 
tme,  save  me  !  — save  rne  !  " 

I  was  so  much  moved  by  this  horrid  spectacle,  that,  although  in 
momentary  expectation  of  sharing  his  fate,  I  did  attempt  to  speak  in 
his  behalf,  but,  as  might  have  been  expected,  my  interference  wa« 
sternly  disregarded.  The  victim  was  held  fast  by  some,  while 
others,  binding  a  large  heavy  stone  in  a  plaid,  tied  it  round  his  neck 
and  others  again  eagerly  stripped  him  of  some  part  of  his  d/css. 
Half  naked,  and  thus  manacled,  they  hurried  him  into  the  lake,  theie 
about  twelve  feet  deep,  drowning  his  last  death-shriek  with  a  loud 
24* 


282  APPENDIX. 

halloo  of  vindictive  triumph,  over  which,  however,  the  yell  of  mortal 
agony  was  distinctly  heard.  The  heavy  hurden  splashed  in  the  dark- 
blue  waters  of  the  lake  ;  and  the  Highlanders,  with  their  pole-axes 
and  swords,  watched  an  instant,  to  guard,  lest,  extricating  himself 
from  the  load  to  which  he  was  attached,  he  might  have  struggled  to 
regain  the  shore.  But  the  knot  had  been  securely  bound  ;  the  victim 
sunk  without  effort ;  the  waters,  which  his  fall  had  disturbed,  settled 
calmly  over  him ;  and  the  unit  of  that  life  for  which  he  had  pleaded 
bo  strongly,  was  forever  withdrawn  from  the  sum  of  human 
existence. 

III.  —  The  Planetary  Systems.  —  Ilervty. 
(Serious,  Descriptive,  and  Didactic  Style.) 

To  us,  who  dwell  on  its  surface,  the  earth  is  by  far  the  most  ex- 
tensive orb  that  our  eyes  can  anywhere  behold :  it  is  also  clothed 
with  verdure,  distinguished  by  trees,  and  adorned  with  a  variety  of 
beautiful  decorations ;  whereas,  to  a  spectator  placed  on  one  of  the 
planets,  it  wears  a  uniform  aspect,  looks  all  luminous,  and  no  larger 
than  a  spot.  To  beings  who  dwell  at  still  greater  distances,  it 
entirely  disappears.  That  which  we  call  alternately  the  morning  and 
the  evening  star,  —  as  in  one  part  of  her  orbit  she  rides  foremost  in 
the  procession  of  night,  in  the  other  ushers  in  and  anticipates  the 
dawn,  —  is  a  planetary  world,  which,  and  the  four  others,  that  so 
wonderfully  vary  their  mystic  dance,  are  in  themselves  dark  bodies, 
and  shine  only  by  reflection  ;  have  fields,  and  seas,  and  skies  of  their 
own,  are  furnished  with  all  accommodations  for  animal  subsistence, 
and  are  supposed  to  be  the  abodes  of  intellectual  life ;  all  which, 
together  with  our  earthly  habitation,  are  dependent  on  that  grand 
dispenser  of  divine  munificence,  the  sun ;  receive  their  light  from  the 
distribution  of  his  rays,  and  derive  their  comfort  from  his  benign 
agency. 

This  sun,  however,  with  all  its  attendant  planets,  is  but  a  very 
little  part  of  the  grand  machine  of  the  universe  :  every  star,  though 
in  appearance  no  bigger  than  the  diamond  that  glitters  upon  a  lady's 
ring,  is  really  a  vast  globe,  like  the  sun  in  size  and  in  glory  ;  no  less 
spacious,  no  less  luminous,  than  the  radiant  source  of  the  day :  so 
that  every  star  is  not  barely  a  world,  but  the  centre  of  a  magnificent 
system  ;  has  a  retinue  of  worlds,  irradiated  by  its  beams,  and  revolv- 
ing round  its  attractive  influence,  all  which  are  lost  to  our  sight  in 
immeasurable  wilds  of  ether. 

It  is  observed  by  a  very  judicious  writer,  that  if  the  sun  himself, 


MISCELLANEOUS    PIECES.  283 

which  enlightens  this  part  of  the  creation,  were  extinguished,  and  all 
the  host  of  planetary  worlds,  which  move  about  him,  were  annihi- 
lated, they  would  not  be  missed  by  an  eye  that  can  take  in  the  whole 
compass  of  nature,  anymore  than  a  grain  of  sand  upon  the  sea-shore. 
The  bulk  of  which  they  consist,  and  the  space  which  they  occupy, 
are  so  exceeding  lktle  in  comparison  of  the  whole,  that  their  loss 
would  scarce  leave  a  blank  in  the  immensity  of  God's  works. 

IV.  — Chatham's  Rebuke  of  Lord   Suffolk. 
(Declamatory  Interrogation,  Detestation,  and  Abhorrence.) 

Who  is  the  man,  that,  in  addition  to  the  disgraces  and  mischiefs  of 
the  war,  has  dared  to  authorize  and  associate  to  our  arms  the  toma- 
hawk and  scalping-knife  of  the  savage  1  —  to  call  into  civilized  alli- 
ance, the  wild  and  inhuman  inhabitant  of  the  woods?  —  to  delegate 
to  the  merciless  Indian,  the  defence  of  disputed  rights,  and  to  wage 
the  horrors  of  his  barbarous  war  against  our  brethren  ?  My  lords, 
these  enormities  cry  aloud  for  redress  and  punishment.  But,  my 
lords,  this  barbarous  measure  has  been  defended,  not  only  on  the 
principles  of  policy  and  necessity,  but  also,  on  those  of  morality ;  "  for 
it  is  perfectly  allowable,"  says  Lord  Suffolk,  "to  use  all  the  means, 
which  God  and  nature  have  put  into  our  hands. "  I  am  astonished, 
I  am  shocked,  to  hear  such  principles  confessed;  to  hear  them 
avowed  in  this  house,  or  in  this  country ! 

My  lords,  I  did  not  intend  to  encroach  so  much  on  your  attention ; 
but  I  cannot  repress  my  indignation  —  I  feel  myself  impelled  to 
speak.  My  lords,  we  are  called  upon  as  members  of  this  house,  as 
men,  as  Christians,  to  protest  against  such  horrible  barbarity!  — 
M  That  God  and  nature  have  put  into  our  hands  !  "  What  ideas  of 
God  and  nature,  that  noble  lord  may  entertain,  I  know  not ;  but  I 
knowr,  that  such  detestable  principles  are  equally  abhorrent  to  religion 
and  humanity.  What !  to  attribute  the  sacred  sanction  of  God  and 
nature,  to  the  massacres  of  the  Indian  scalping-knife  !  to  the  carmbaj 
savage,  torturing,  murdering,  devouring,  drinking  the  blood  of  his 
mangled  victims!  Such  notions  shock  every  precept  of  morality 
every  feeling  of  humanity,  every  sentiment  of  honor.  These  abomi- 
caUta  principles,  and  this  more  abominable  avowal  of  them,  demand 
the  most  decisive  indignation. 

I  call  upon  that  right  reverend,  and  this  most  learned  bench,  to 
vindicate  the  religion  of  their  God,  to  support  the  justice  of  their 
co-intry.  I  ''all  upon  the  bishops,  to  interpose  the  unsullied  sanctity 
of  their  lawn;  —  upon  the  judges,  to  interpose  the  purity  of  their 


284  APPENDIX. 

ermine,  to  save  us  from  this  pollution.  I  call  upon  the  honor  of  you! 
lordships  to  reverence  the  dignity  of  your  ancestors,  and  to  maintain 
your  own.  I  call  upon  the  spirit  and  humanity  of  my  country,  to 
vindicate  the  national  character.  I  solemnly  call  upon  your  lord 
ships,  and  upon  every  order  of  men  in  the  state,  to  stamp  upon 
this  infamous  procedure,  the  indelible  stigma  of  the  public  abhor- 
rence. More  particularly,  I  call  upon  the  holy  prelates  of  our 
religion,  to  do  away  this  iniquity ;  let  them  perform  a  lustration,  to 
purify  the  country  from  this  deep  and  deadly  sin. 

V.  —  Extract  from  Patrick  Henry's  Speech  in  favor  of  the  War 
or  Independence. 

(Declamatory  Expostulation,  Courage,  Confidence,  Resolute  Defiance, 
Rousing  Appeal,  Deep  Determination.) 

They  tell  us,  sir,  that  we  are  weak  —  unable  to  cope  with  so  for* 
midable  an  adversary.  But  when  shall  we  be  stronger?  Will  it  be 
the  next  week,  or  tHe  next  year?  Will  it  be  when  we  are  totally 
disarmed ;  and  when  a  British  guard  shall  be  stationed  in  e\ery 
house?  Shall  we  gather  strength  by  irresolution  and  inaction? 
Shall  we  acquire  the  means  of  effectual  resistance,  by  lying  supinely 
on  our  backs,  and  hugging  the  delusive  phantom  of  hope,  until  our 
enemies  shall  have  bound  us  hand  and  foot  ? 

Sir,  we  are  not  weak,  if  we  make  a  proper  use  of  those  means, 
which  the  God  of  nature  hath  placed  in  our  power.  Three  millions 
of  people,  armed  in  the  holy  cause  of  liberty,  and  in  such  a  country 
as  that  which  we  possess,  are  invincible  by  any  force  which  our 
enemy  can  send  against  us.  Besides,  sir,  we  shall  not  fight  alone. 
There  is  a  just  God,  who  presides  over  the  destinies  of  nations,  and 
who  will  raise  up  friends  to  fight  our  battles  for  us. 

The  battle,  sir,  is  not  to  the  strong  alone :  it  is  to  the  vigilant,  the 
active,  the  brave.  —  Besides,  sir,  we  have  no  election.  If  we  were 
base  enough  to  desire  it,  it  is  now  too  late  to  retire  from  the  contest. 
There  is  no  retreat,  but  in  submission  and  slavery !  Our  chains  are 
forg  id.  Their  clanking  may  be  heard  on  the  plains  of  Boston ! 
The  war  is  inevitable  —  and  let  it  come!  I  repeat  it,  sir,  let  it 
come ! 

It  is  in  vain,  sir,  to  extenuate  the  matter.  Gentlemen  may  cry 
peace,  peace,  —  but  there  is  no  peace.  The  war  is  actually  begun . 
The  next  gale,  tha;  sweeps  from  the  north,  will  bring  to  our  ears 
the  clash  of  resounding  arms  !  Our  brethren  are  already  in  the  field . 
Why  stand  we  here  idle  ?    What  is  it  that  gentlemen  wish?     Whal 


MISCELLANEOUS   PIECES.  285 

fiould  they  have  ?  —  Is  life  so  dear,  or  peace  so  sweet,  as  to  be  pur- 
chased at  the  price  of  chains  and  slavery?     Forbid  it,  Almighty 
God! — I  know  not  what  course  others  may  take;  but  as  for  me 
—  give  me  liberty,  or  give  me  death ! 

VI.  —  The  Ocean. — Byron. 

Roll  on,  thou  deep  and  dark  blue  ocean — roll ! 

Ten  thousand  fleets  sweep  over  thee  in  vain ; 
Man  marks  the  earth  with  ruin  —  his  control 

Stops  with  the  shore  ;  —  upon  the  watery  plain 

The  wrecks  are  all  thy  deed  ;   nor  doth  remain 
A  shadow  of  man's  ravage,  save  his  own, 

When,  for  a  moment,  like  a  drop  of  rain, 
He  sinks  into  thy  depths  with  bubbling  groan, 
Without  a  grave,  unknelled,  uncoffined,  and  unknown ! 

The  armaments,  which  thunderstrike  the  walls 

Of  rock-built  cities,  bidding  nations  quake, 
And  monarchs  tremble  in  their  capitals  — 

The  oak  leviathans,  whose  huge  ribs  make 

Their  clay  Creator  the  vain  title  take 
Of  lord  of  thee,  and  arbiter  of  war  — 

These  are  thy  toys ;  and,  as  the  snowy  flake 

They  melt  into  thy  yeast  of  waves,  which  mar 

Alike  the  Armada's  pride,  or  spoils  of  Trafalgar. 

Thy  shores  are  empires,  changed  in  all  save  thee  — 
Assyria,  Greece,  Rome,  Carthage,  what  are  they? 

Thy  waters  wasted  them  while  they  were  free, 
And  many  a  tyrant  since  ;  their  shores  obey 
The  stranger,  slave,  or  savage ;  their  decay 

Has  dried  up  realms  to  deserts  —  not  so  thou, 
Unchangeable  save  to  thy  wild  waves'  play  — 

Time  writes  no  wrinkle  on  thy  azure  brow  — 
Such  as  Creation's  dawn  beheld,  thou  rollest  now ! 

Thou  glorious  mirror,  where  the  Almighty's  form 
Glasses  itself  in  tempests! — in  all  time  — 

Calm  or  convulsed,  in  breeze  or  gale  or  storm, 
Icing  the  pole,  or  in  the  torrid  clime 
Dark  heaving  —  boundless,  endless,  and  sublime ' 


APPENDIX. 

The  image  of  Eternity !  —  the  throne 

Of  the  Invisible.  —  Even  from  out  thy  slime 
The  monsters  of  the  deep  are  made !     Each  zone 
Obeys  Thee  !    Thou  go'st  forth  ;  dread !  fathomless !  alona 

VII.  —  Battle  of  Waterloo.  —  Byron. 

There  was  a  sound  of  revelry  by  night  ;s 
And  Belgium's  capita^  had  gathered  then ) 

Her  Beauty  and  her  Chivalry ;  and  bright 

The  lamps  shone  o'er  fair  women' and  brave  men : 
A  thousand  hearts  beat  happily  ;  and  when 

Music  arose/ with  its  voluptuous  swell, 

Soft  eyes  looked  love  to  eyes  which  spake  again, 

And  all  went  merry  as  a  marriage  bell ;  — 
But  hush !  hark !  a  deep  sound  strikes  like  a  rising  knell! 

Did  ye  not  hear  it  ?  —  No ;  't  was  but  the  wind, 

Or  the  car  prattling  o'er  the  stony  street : 
On  with  the  dance !  let  joy  be  unconfined  ; 

No  sleep  till  morn,  when  Youth  and  Pleasure  meet 

To  chase  the  glowing  Hours  with  flying  feet;  — 
But,  hark!' — that  heavy  sound  breaks  in  once  more,/ 

As  if  the  clouds  its  echo  would  repeat ; 
And  nearer^  clearer,  deadlier  than  before  ! 
Arm !  Arm !  it  is !  —  it  is !  —  the  cannon's  opening  roar 

Ah !  then  and  there  was  hurrying  to  and  fro, 

And  gathering  tears,  and  tremblings  of  distress, 
And  cheeks  all  pale,  which  but  an  hour  ago 

Blushed  at  the  praise  of  their  own  loveliness  ; 

And  there  were  sudden  partings,  such  as  press 
The  life  from  out  young  hearts,  and  choking  sighs  I 

Which  ne'er  might  be  repeated^  who  could  guess 
If  ever  more  should  meetjthose  mutual  eyes,^ 
Since  upon  nigh^so  sweet /such  awful  morn  could  rise? 

\  \ 

And  there  was  mounting  in  hot  haste  :  the  steed, 

The  mustering  squadron}  and  the  clattering  car^ 
Went  pouring  forward  with  impetuous  speedy 
Ami  swiftly  forming  in  the  ranks  of  war  ;N 
And  the  deep  thunder,  peal  on  peal,  afar/ 


MISCELLANEOUS    PIECES.  287 

And  near,  the  beat  of  the  alarming  drum, 

Roused  up  the  soldier/ere  the  morning  star;  — 
While  thronged  the  citizens  with  terror  dumb, 
Or  whispering,  with  white  lips  —  "  The  foe!  they  come!  they 
come ! v 

And  wild  and  high  the  "  Cameron's  gathering  "  rose ! 

The  war-note  of  LochieL/  which  Albyn's  hills       . 
Have  heard  ;  —  and  heard,- too,  have  her  Saxon  foes :  — 

How  in  the  noon  of  night ! that  pibroch  thrills, 

Savage  and  shrill !     But  with  the  breath  which  fills 
Their  mountain-pipe,  so  fill  the  mountaineers 

With  the  fierce  native  daring,  which  instils 
The  stirring  memory  of  a  thousand  years  ; 
And  Evan's,  Donald's  fame  rings  in  each  clansman's  ears ! 

And  Ardennes  waves  above  them  her  green  leaves, 

Dewy  with  nature's  tear-drops,  as  they  pass, 
Grieving,  —  if  aught  inanimate  e'er  grieves,  — 

Over  the  unreturning  brave,  —  alas ! 

Ere  evening  to  be  trodden  like  the  grass 
Which  now  beneath' them,  but  above  shall  grow  / 

In  its  next  verdure  ;  when  this  fiery  mass 
Of  living  valor,  rolling  on  the  foe,' 
And  burning  with  high  hope,  shall  moulder  cold  and  low ! 

Last  noon/beheld  them  full  of  lusty  life, 

Last  eve/in  Beauty's  circle  proudly  gay, 
The  midnight/brought  the  signal-sound  of  strife, 

The  morn,  the  marshalling  in  arms.  —  the  day  | 

Battle's  magnificently-stern  array !  ^  . 

The  thunder-clouds  close  o'er'it,  which  when  rent  ' 

The  earth!  is  covered  thick jwith  otjier  clay,  v 

Which  her  ownVlay  shall  coverf- —  heaped  and  pent, 
Rider  and  horsey — friend^  foe",  —  in  one\red/ buriall  blent ! 

VIII.  —  Satan  rallying  the  Fallen  Angels.  —  Milton. 

lie  scarce  had  ceased  when  the  superior  fiend 

Was  moving  toward  the  shore  ;  his  ponderous  shield 

Ethereal  temper,  massy,  large,  and  round, 

Behind  him  cast,  the  broad  circumference 

Hung  on  his  shoulders,  like  the  moon,  whose  orb, 


288  APPENDIX. 

Thro'  optic  glass,  the  Tuscan  artist  views, 

At  evening,  from  the  top  of  Fiesole, 

Or  in  Valdarno,  to  descry  new  lands, 

Rivers,  or  mountains,  on  her  spotty  globe. 

His  spear,  to  equal  which  the  tallest  pine 

Hewn  on  Norwegian  hills  to  be  the  mast 

Of  some  great  admiral,  were  but  a  wand, 

He  walked  with  to  support  uneasy  steps 

Over  the  burning  marl :  (not  like  those  steps 

On  Heaven's  azure  !)  and  the  torrid  clime 

Smote  on  him  sore  besides,  vaulted  with  fire. 

Nathless  he  so  endured  till  on  the  beach 

Of  that  inflamed  sea  he  stood,  and  called 

His  legions,  angel  forms,  who  lay,  entranced, 

Thick  as  autumnal  leaves  that  strew  the  brooks 

In  Vallombrosa,  where  the  Etrurian  shades, 

High  over-arched  embower ;  or  scattered  sedge 

Afloat,  when  with  fierce  winds,  Orion  ajmied, 

Hath  vexed  the  Red  Sea  coast,  whose  waves  o'erthrew 

Busiris  and  his  Memphian  chivalry, 

While  with  perfidious  hatred  they  pursued 

The  sojourners  of  Goshen,  who  beheld 

From  .the  safe  shore,  their  floating  carcases 

And  broken  chariot  wheels  :  so  thick  bestrown, 

Abject  and  lost,  lay  these,  covering  the  flood, 

Under. amazement  of  their  hideous  change. 

He  called  so  loud,  that  all  the  hollow  deep 

Of  hell  resounded. 

"  Princes !  Potentates ! 
Warriors !  the  flower  of  heaven,  once  yours,  now  lost^ 
If  such  astonishment  as  this  can  seize 
Eternal  spirits :  or  have  ye  chosen  this  place, 
To  rest  your  wearied  virtue,  for  the  ease  ye  find 
To  slumber  here,  as  in  the  vales  of  heaven? 
Or  in  this  abject  posture  have  you  sworn 
To  adore  the  Conqueror,  who  now  beholds 
Cherub  and  seraph  rolling  in  the  flood, 
With  scattered  arms  and  ensigns  ;  till,  anon, 
His  swift  pursuers,  from  heaven  gates  discern 
The  advantage,  and  descending,  tread  us  down 
Thus  drooping ;  or  with  linked  thunderbolts 


MISCELLANEOUS    PIECES.  289 

Transfix  us  to  the  bottom  of  this  gulf? 
4. wake !  arise !  or  be  forever  fallen !  " 

IX.  —  Hymn  to  Mont  Blanc.  —  Coleridge. 

Hast  thou  a  charm  to  stay  the  morning  star 

In  his  s*eep  course  1  so  long  he  seems  to  pause 

On  thy  bald  awful  head,  O  sovran  Blanc  ! 

The  Arve"  and  Arveiron  at  thy  base 

Rave  ceaselessly,  while  thou,  dread  mountain  form, 

Risest  from  forth  thy  silent  sea  of  pines 

How  silently  !     Around  thee  and  above 

Deep  is  the  sky  and  black  :  transpicuous  deep 

An  ebon  mass  !  methinks  thou  piercest  it 

As  with  a  wedge  !     But  when  I  look  again 

It  seems  thine  own  calm  home,  thy  crystal  shrine, 

Thy  habitation  from  eternity. 

0  dread  and  silent  form !     I  gazed  on  thee 
Till  thou,  still  present  to  my  bodily  eye, 

Didst  vanish  from  my  thought.  —  Entranced  in  prayex 

1  worshipped  the  Invisible  alone, 

"Yet  thou,  methinks,  wast  working  on  my  soul, 
E'en  like  some  deep  enchanting  melody, 
So  sweet  we  know  not  we  are  listening  to  it. 
But  I  awake,  and  with  a  busier  mind 
And  active  will,  self-conscious,  offer  now, 
Not,  as  before,  involuntary  prayer 
And  passive  adoration. 

Hand  and  voice 
Awake,  awake !  and  thou,  my  heart,  awake! 
Green  fields  and  icy  cliffs  !  all  join  my  hymn ! 
And  thou,  O  silent  mountain,  sole  and  bare, 
O  blacker  than  the  darkness,  all  the  night,      , 
And  visited  all  night  by  troops  of  stars,  — 
Or  when  they  climb  the  sky,  or  when  they  sink,  — 
Companion  of  the  morning  star,  at  dawn, 
Thyself  earth's  rosy  star,  and  of  the  dawn 
Co-herald !  wake,  oh  !  wake,  and  utter  praise ! 

Who  sank  thy  sunless  pillars  in  the  earth  ? 
Who  filled  thy  countenance  with  rosy  light? 
Who  made  thee  father  of  perpetual  streams  ? 
And  you,  ye  five  wild  torrents,  fiercely  glad, 


290  APPENDIX. 

Who  called  you  forth  from  night  and  utter  deatM 

From  darkness  let  you  loose,  and  icy  dens, 

Down  those  precipitous,  black,  jagged  rocks, 

Forever  shattered,  and  the  same  forever? 

Who  gave  you  your  invulnerable  life, 

Your  strength,  your  speed,  your  fury,  and  your  jcy, 

Unceasing  thunder  and  eternal  foam?  — 

And  who  commanded — and  the  silence  came, 
"  Here  shall  the  billows  stiffen  and  have  rest? " 
Ye  ice-falls !  ye  that  from  your  dizzy  heights 
Adown  enormous  ravines  steeply  slope,  — 
Torrents,  methinks,  that  heard  a  mighty  noise, 
And  stopped  at  once  amidst  their  maddest  plunge,  — 
Motionless  torrents  !   silent  cataracts ! 
Who  made  you  glorious  as  the  gates  of  heaven, 
Beneath  the  keen  full  moon?     Who  bade  the  Sun 
Clothe  you  with  rainbows?     Who  with  lovely  flowers 
Of  living  blue  spread  garlands  at  your  feet  ?  — 
God !  God  !  the  torrents  like  a  shout  of  nations 
Utter  :  the  ice-plain  bursts,  and  answers,  God !  — 
God  !  sing  the  meadow  streams  with  gladsome  voice, 
And  pine-groves  with  their  soft  and  soul-like  sound. 

The  silent  snow-mass,  loosening,  thunders,  God ! 
Ye  dreadless  flowers,  that  fringe  the  eternal  frost ! 
Ye  wild  goats  bounding  by  the  eagle's  nest ! 
Ye  eagles,  playmates  of  the  mountain  blast ! 
Ye  lightnings,  the  dread  arrows  of  the  clouds ! 
Ye  signs  and  wonders  of  the  elements, 
Utter  forth  God  !   and  fill  the  hills  with  praise ! 
And  thou,  O  silent  form,  alone  and  bare, — 
Whom  as  I  lift  again  my  head,  bowed  low 
In  silent  adoration,  I  again  behold, 
And  to  thy  summit  upward  from  thy  base 
Sweep  slowly,  with  dim  eyes  suffused  with  tears,— 
Awake  thou  mountain  form !     Rise  like  a  cloud, 
Rise,  like  a  cloud  of  incense,  from  the  earth ! 
Thou  kingly  spirit  throned  among  the  hills, 
Thou  dread  Ambassador  from  earth  to  heaven, 
Great  Hierarch,  tell  thou  the  silent  sky, 
And  tell  the  stars,  and  tell  the  rising  sun, 
Earth  with  her  thousand  voices  calls  en  God. 


MISCELLANEOUS    PIECES.  291 

X.—  Ode  on  the  Passions.  —  Collins. 

When  Music,  heavenly  maid,  was  young", 
While  yet  in  early  Greece  she  sung-, 
The  Passions  oft,  to  hear  her  shell, 
Thronged  around  her  magic  cell, 
Exulting,  trembling,  raging,  fainting,-— 
Possessed  beyond  the  Muse's  painting. 
By  turns  they  felt  the  glowing  mind 
Disturbed,  delighted,  raised,  refined: 
Till  once,  'tis  said,  when  all  were  fired, 
Filled  with  fury,  rapt,  inspired, 
From  the  supporting  myrtles  round 
They  snatched  her  instruments  of  sound ; 
And,  as  they  oft  had  heard  apart 
Sweet  lessons  of  her  forceful  art, 
Each,  (for  madness  ruled  the  hour,) 
Would  prove  his  own  expressive  power. 

First,  Fear,  his  hand,  its  skill  to  try, 

Amid  the  chords  bewildered  laid  ;  — 
And  back  recoiled,  he  knew  not  why, 

Even  at  the  sound  himself  had  made. 

Next,  Anger  rushed  :  his  eyes  on  fire, 
In  lightnings  owned  his  secret  stings  .  — 

"With  one  rude  clash  he  struck  the  lyre, 
And  swept  with  hurried  hands  the  strings. 

With  woful  measures,  wan  Despair  — 

Low  sullen  sounds  his  grief  beguiled ; 
A  solemn,  strange,  and  mingled  air : 

'Twas  sad,  by  fits  ; — by  starts,  'twas  wild. 

But  thou,  O  Hope  !  with  eyes  so  fair, 
What  was  thy  delighted  measure  ? 
Still  it  whispered  promised  pleasure, 
And  bade  the  lovely  scenes  at  distance  hail. 
Still  would  her  touch  the  strain  prolong ; 
And  from  the  rocks,  the  woods,  the  vale, 

She  called  on  Echo  still  through  all  her  song  : 
And,  where  her  sweetest  theme  she  chose, 
A  soft  responsive  voice  was  heard  at  every  close ; 
And  Hope,  enchanted,  smiled,  and  waved  her  golden  hair : 


292  APPENDIX. 

And  longer  had  she  sung-  —  but,  with  a  frown, 

Revenge  impatient  rose. 
He  threw  his  blood-stained  sword  in  thunder  down  ' 
And,  with  a  withering  look, 
The  war-denouncing  trumpet  took, 
And  blew  a  blast,  so  loud  and  dread, 
Were  ne'er  prophetic  sounds  so  full  of  woe : 
And  ever  and  anon,  he  beat 
The  doubling  drum  with  furious  heat. 
And  though  sometimes,  each  dreary  pause  between, 
Dejected  Pity  at  his  side, 
Her  soul-subduing  voice  applied, 
Yet  still  he  kept  his  wild  unaltered  mien ; 
While  each  strained  ball  of  sight  seemed  bursting  from  his  head 

Thy  numbers,  Jealousy,  to  nought  were  fixed ; 

Sad  proof  of  thy  distressful  state ! 
Of  differing  themes  the  veering  song  was  mixed : 

And,  now,  it  courted  Love  ;*  now,  raving,  called  en  Hate 

With  eyes  upraised,  as  one  inspired, 

Pale  Melancholy  sat  retired  ; 

And  from  her  wild  sequestered  seat, 

In  notes  by  distance  made  more  sweet, 
Poured  through  the  mellow  horn  her  pensive  soul ; 

And,  dashing  soft  from  rocks  around, 

Bubbling  runnels  joined  the  sound. 
Through  glades  and  glooms  the  mingled  measure  stole, 

Or  o'er  some  haunted  stream,  with  fond  delay, 
(Round  a  holy  calm  diffusing, 
Love  of  peace  and  lonely  musing,) 

In  hollow  murmurs  died  away. 

But,  oh  !  how  altered  was  its  sprightlier  tone, 
When  Cheerfulness,  a  nymph  of  healthiest  hue, 

Her  bow  across  her  shoulder  flung, 
Her  buskins  gemmed  with  morning  dew, 

Blew  an  inspiring  air,  that  dale  and  thicket  rung, 
The  hunter's  call,  to  Faun  and  Dryad  known ! 

The  oak-crowned  Sisters,  and  their  chaste-eyed  Jueen, 
Satyrs  and  sylvan  boys  were  seen, 
Peeping  from  forth  their  alleys  green ; 


MISCELLANEOUS    PIECES.  293 

Brown  Exercise  rejoiced  to  hear, 
Ana  Sport  leaped  up,  and  seized  his  beechcn  speart 

Last,  came  Joy's  ecstatic  trial. 
lie,  with  viay  crown  advancing, 

First  to  the  lively  pipe  his  hand  addressed ; 
Pat  soon  lie  saw  the  brisk  awakening  viol, 

Whose  sweet  entrancing  voice  he  loved  the  best. 
They  would  have  thought,  who  heard  the  strain, 
They  saw,  in  Tempo's  vale,  her  native  maids, 
Amid  the  fatal-sounding  shades, 
To  some  unwearied  minstrel  dancing ; 
While,  as  his  flying  ringers  kissed  the  strings, 
Love  framed  with  Mirth  a  gay  fantastic  round  : 
(Loose  were  her  tresses  seen,  her  zone  unbound ;) 
And  he  amidst  his  frolic  play,  — 
As  if  he  would  the  charming  air  repay,— 
Shook  thousand  odors  from  his  dewy  wings. 

1  XI. — The  uses  of  Knowledge. — Alison, 

llio  first  end  to  which  all  wisdom  or  knowledge  ought  to  be  cm- 
ployed,  is  to  illustrate  the  wisdom  or  goodness  of  the  Father  of 
Nature.  Every  science  that  is  cultivated  by  men,  leads  naturally  to 
religious  thought,  from  the  study  of  the  plant  that  grows  beneath  our 
feet,  to  that  of  the  Host  of  Heaven  above  us,  who  perform  their 
stated  revolutions  in  majestic  silence,  amid  the  expanse  of  infinity. 
When,  in  the  youth  of  Moses,  "  the  Lord  appeared  to  him  in 
Horeb,"  a  voice  was  heard,  saying,  "  draw  nigh  hither,  and  put  off 
thy  shoes  from  off  thy  feet ;  for  the  place  where  thou  standest  is  holy 
ground."  It  is  with  such  a  reverential  awe  that  every  great  or 
elevated  mind  will  approach  to  the  study  of  nature,  and  with  such 
'eolings  of  adoration  and  gratitude,  that  he  will  receive  the  illumina- 
tion that  gradually  opens  upon  his  soul. 

It  is  not  the  lifeless  mass  of  matter,  he  will  then  feel,  that  he  is 
.examining, — it  is  the  mighty  machine  of  Eternal  Wisdom:  the 
workmanship  of  Him,  "  in  whom  everything  li  /es,  and  moves,  and 
has  its  being."     Under  an  aspect  of  this  kind,  it  is  impossible  to  pur- 

1  A  few  of  the  concluding  pieces  in  the  first  edition,  which  were  designed 
for  the  use  of  theological  students,  are  now  displaced  by  others  of  a  more  gen 
eral  character;  as  the  author's  new  work,  Pulpit  Elocut  on,  has  since  been 
prepared  for  the  purpose  of  furnishing  appropriate  profes;  ional  txerci*e». 

25* 


294  APPENDIX 

sue  kn  3wledge  without  mmgling  with  it  the  most  elevated  sentiments 
of  devotion ;  — it  is  impossible  to  perceive  the  laws  of  nature  without 
perceiving,  at  the  same  time,  the  presence  and  the  Providence  of  the 
Lawgiver;  —  and  thus  it  is,  that,  in  every  age,  the  evidences  of 
religion  have  advanced  with  the  progress  of  true  philosophy ;  and 
that  science,  in  erecting  a  monument  to  herself,  has,  at  the  same 
time,  erected  an  altar  to  the  Deity. 

The  second  great  end  to  which  all  knowledge  ought  to  be 
employed,  is  the  welfare  of  humanity.  Every  science  is  the  foun- 
dation of  seme  art,  beneficial  to  men ;  and  while  the  study  of  it 
leads  us  to  see  the  beneficence  of  the  laws  of  nature,  it  calls  upon  us 
also  to  follow  the  great  end  of  the  Father  of  Nature  in  their  employ- 
ment and  application.  I  need  not  say  what  a  field  is  thus  opened  to 
the  benevolence  of  knowledge :  I  need  not  tell  you,  that  in  every 
department  of  learning  there  is  good  to  be  done  to  mankind :  I  need 
not  remind  you,  that  the  age  in  which  we  live  has  given  us  the 
noblest  examples  of  this  kind,  and  that  science  now  finds  its  highest 
glory  in  improving  the  condition,  or  in  allaying  the  miseries  of 
humanity.  But  there  is  one  thing  of  which  it  is  proper  ever  to 
remind  you,  because  the  modesty  of  knowledge  often  leads  us  to  for- 
get it,  —  and  that  is,  that  the  power  of  scientific  benevolence  is  far 
greater  than  that  of  all  others,  to  the  welfare  of  society. 

The  benevolence  of  the  great,  or  the  opulent,  however  eminent  it 
may  be,  perishes  with  themselves.  The  benevolence  even  of  sove- 
reigns is  limited  to  the  narrow  boundary  of  human  life ;  and,  not 
unfrequently,  is  succeeded  by  different  and  discordant  counsels.  But 
the  benevolence  of  knowledge  is  of  a  kind  as  extensive  as  the  race 
of  man,  and  as  permanent  as  the  existence  of  society.  He,  in  what- 
ever situation  he  may  be,  who,  in  the  study  of  science,  has  discov- 
ered a  new  means  of  alleviating  pain,  or  of  remedying  disease  ;  who 
has  described  a  wiser  method  of  preventing  poverty,  or  of  shielding 
misfortune;  who  has  suggested  additional  means  of  increasing  or 
improving  the  beneficent  productions  of  nature,  has  left  a  memorial 
of  himself,  which  can  never  be  forgotten  ;  which  will  communicate 
happiness  to  ages  yet  unborn  ;  and  which,  in  the  emphatic  language 
of  Scripture,  renders  him  a  "  fellow-worker"  with  God  himself,  in 
the  improvement  of  his  Creation. 

XIL  —  Scene  from  the   Lights   and   Shadows  of  Scottish  Life.— 
Wilson. 
The  rite  of  baptism  had  not  been  performed  for  several  months  in 
the  kirk  of  Lanark.     It  was  now  the  hottest  time  of  persecution ; 


MISCELLANEOUS    PIECES.  295 

and  the  infcabitan  ts  of  that  parish  found  other  places  in  which  to  wor- 
ship God  and  celebrate  the  ordinances  of  religion.  It  was  the  Sab- 
bath day,  —  and  a  small  congregation,  of  about  a  hundred  souls,  had 
met  for  divine  service  in  a  place  of  worship  more  magnificent  than 
any  temple  that  human  hands  had  ever  built  to  Deity.  Here,  too, 
were  three  children  about  to  be  baptized.  The  congregation  had  not 
assembled  to  the  toll  of  the  bell,  —  but  each  heart  knew  the  hour  and 
observed  it ;  for  there  are  a  hundred  sun-dials  among  the  hills,  woods, 
mocrs,  and  fields,  and  the  shepherds  and  the  peasants  see  the  hours 
passing  by  them  in  sunshine  and  shadow. 

The  church  in  which  they  were  assembled,  was  hewn  by  God's 
hand,  out  of  the  eternal  rocks.  A  river  rolled  its  way  through  a 
mighty  chasm  of  cliffs,  several  hundred  feet  high,  of  which  the  cne 
side  presented  enormous  masses,  and  the  other  corresponding  re- 
cesses, as  if  the  great  stone  girdle  had  been  rent  by  a  convulsion. 
The  channel  was  overspread  with  prodigious  fragments  of  rocks  or 
large  loose  stones,  some  of  them  smooth  and  bare,  others  containing 
soil  and  verdure  in  their  rents  and  fissures,  and  here  and  there 
crowned  with  shrubs  and  trees.  The  eye  could  at  once  command  a 
long  stretching  vista,  seemingly  closed  and  shut  up  at  both  extremi- 
ties, by  the  coalescing  cliffs. 

This  majestic  reach  of  river  contained  pools,  streams,  rushing 
shelves,  and  waterfalls  innumerable ;  and  when  the  water  was  low, 
which  it  now  was  in  the  common  drought,  it  was  easy  to  walk  up 
this  scene  with  the  calm  blue  sky  overhead,  an  utter  and  sublime  sol- 
itude.  On  looking  up,  the  soul  was  bowed  down  by  the  feeling  of 
that  prodigious  height  of  unscalable  and  often  overhanging  cliff. 
Between  the  channel  and  the  summit  of  the  far-extended  precipices, 
were  perpetually  flying  rooks  and  wood-pigeons,  and  now  and  then  a 
hawk,  filling  the  profound  abyss  with  their  wild  cawing,  deep  mur- 
mur, or  shrilly  shriek. 

Sometimes  a  heron  would  stand  erect  and  still  on  some  little  stone 
island,  or  rise  up  like  a  white  cloud  along  the  black  walls  of  the 
chasm,  and  disappear.  Winged  creatures  alone  could  inhabit  this 
region.  The  fox  and  wild-cat  chose  more  accessible  haunts.  Yet 
here  came  the  persecuted  Christians,  and  worshipped  God,  whoso 
hand  hung  over  their  heads  those  magnificent  pillars  and  arches, 
scooped  out  those  galleries  from  the  solid  rock,  and  laid  at  their  feet 
the  calm  water  in  its  transparent  beauty,  in  which  they  could  see 
themselves  sitting  in  reflected  groups,  with  their  Bibles  in  theii 
hands. 


296  APPENDIX. 

The  lite  of  baptism  was  over,  and  the  religious  service  of  the  day 
closed  by  a  Psalm.  The  mighty  rocks  hemmed  in  the  holy  sound 
and  sent  it,  in  a  more  compacted  volume,  clear,  sweet,  and  strong, 
up  to  heaven.  When  the  Psalm  ceased,  an  echo,  like  a  spirit's 
voice,  was  heard  dying  away  high  up  among  the  magnificent  archi- 
tecture of  the  cliffs,  and  once  more  might  be  noticed  in  the  silence 
\}**>  reviving  voice  of  the  waterfall. 

Just  then  a  large  stone  fell  from  the  top  of  the  cliff  into  the  pool,  a 
loud  voice  was  heard,  and  a  plaid  hung  over  on  the  point  of  a  shep- 
herd's staff.  Their  watchful  sentinel  had  descried  danger,  and  this 
was  his  warning.  Forthwith  the  congregation  rose.  There  were 
paths  dangerous  to  unpractised  feet,  along  the  ledges  of  the  rocks, 
leading  up  to  several  caves  and  places  of  concealment.  The  more 
active  and  young  assisted  the  elder  —  more  especially  the  old  pastor, 
and  the  women  with  the  infants  ;  and  many  minutes  had  not  elapsed, 
till  not  a  living  creature  was  visible  in  the  channel  of  the  stream,  but 
all  of  them  hidden,  or  nearly  so,  in  the  clefts  and  caverns. 

The  shepherd  who  had  given  the  alarm  had  lain  down  again  in  his 
plaid  instantly  on  the  green  sward  upon  the  summit  of  these  preci- 
pices. A  party  of  soldiers  were  immediately  upon  him,  and  de- 
manded what  signals  he  had  been  making,  and  to  whom  ;  when  one 
of  them,  looking  over  the  edge  of  the  cliff,  exclaimed,  "  See,  see! 
Humphrey,  we  have  caught  the  whole  tabernacle  of  the  Lord  in  a 
net  at  last.  There  they  are,  praising  God  among  the  stones  of  the 
river  Mouss.  These  are  the  Cartland  Craigs.  By  my  soul's  salva- 
tion, a  noble  cathedral !  "  "  Fling  the  lying  sentinel  over  the  cliffs. 
Here  is  a  canting  covenanter  for  you,  deceiving  honest  soldiers  on  the 
very  Sabbath  day.  Over  with  him,  over  with  him — out  of  the  gal- 
lery into  the  pit." 

But  the  shepherd  had  vanished  like  a  shadow ;  and  mixing  with 
the  tall  green  broom  and  bushes,  was  making  his  unseen  way 
towards  a  wood.  "  Satan  has  saved  his  servant ;  but  come,  my  lads 
—  follow  me  ;  I  know  the  way  down  into  the  bed  of  the  stream  —  and 
the  steps  up  to  Wallace's  Cave.  They  are  called  the  *  Kittle  Nine 
Stancs.'  The  hunt 's  up.  We  '11  be  all  in  at  the  death.  IIa.loo — - 
my  boys  —  halloo  !  " 

The  soldiers  dashed  down  a  less  precipitous  part  of  the  wooded 
banks,  a  little  below  the  "  craigs,"  and  hurried  up  the  channel. 
But  when  they  reached  the  altar  where  the  old  gray-haired  minister 
had  been  seen  standing,  and  the  rocks  that  had  been  covered  with 
people,   all  was  silent  and  solitary;   not  a  creature  to  be  seen 


MISCELLANEOUS    PIECES.  297 

Here  is  a  Bible  dropt  by  some  of  them,"  cried  a  soldier,  and,  with 
his  foot,  spun  it  away  into  the  pool.  "  A  bonnet,  a  bonnet,"  cried 
another,  —  now  for  the  pretty  sanctified  face  that  rolled  its  demure 
eyes  below  it." 

But,  after  a  few  jests  and  oaths,  the  soldiers  stood  still,  eyeing 
with  a  kind  of  mysterious  dread  the  black  and  silent  walls  of  the  rock 
that  hemmed  them  in,  and  hearing  only  the  small  voice  of  the  stream 
that  sent  a  profounder  stillness  through  the  heart  of  that  majestic  so 
itude.  "  Curse  these  cowardly  covenanters  —  what,  if  they  tumble 
down  upon  our  heads  pieces  of  rock  from  their  hiding-places  ]  Ad 
vance  1     Or  retreat  1 ' ' 

There  was  no  reply.  For  a  slight  fear  was  upon  every  man; 
musket  or  bayonet  could  be  of  little  use  to  men  obliged  to  clambei 
up  rocks,  along  slender  paths,  leading,  they  knew  not  where ;  and 
they  were  aware  that  armed  men  now-a-days,  worshipped  God,—- 
men  of  iron  hearts,  who  feared  not  the  glitter  of  the  soldier's  arms 
—  neither  barrel  nor  bayonet — men  of  long  stride,  firm  step,  and 
broad  breast,  who,  on  the  open  field,  would  have  overthrown  the 
marshalled  line,  and  gone  first  and  foremost,  if  a  city  had  to  be  taken 
by  storm. 

As  the  soldiers  were  standing  together  irresolute,  a  noise  came 
upon  their  ears  like  distant  thunder,  but  even  more  appalling  ;  and  a 
slight  current  of  air,  as  if  propelled  by  it,  passed  whispering  along 
the  sweet-briers,  and  the  broom,  and  the  tresses  of  the  birch  trees 
It  came  deepening,  and  rolling,  and  roaring  on,  and  the  very  Cast 
land  Craigs  shook  to  their  foundation  as  if  in  an  earthquake.  "  The 
Lord  have  mercy  upon  us  —  what  is  this?  "  And  down  fell  many 
of  the  miserable  wretches  on  their  knees,  and  some  on  their  faces, 
upon  the  sharp-pointed  rocks.  Now,  it  was  like  the  sound  of  many 
myriads  of  chariots  rolling  on  their  iron  axles  down  the  stony  channel 
of  the  torrent. 

The  old  gray-haired  minister  issued  from  the  mouth  of  Wallace's 
Cave,  and  said,  with  a  loud  voice,  "  The  Lord  Cod  terrible  reign- 
eth."  A  water-spout  had  burst  up  among  the  moorlands,  and  tho 
river  in  its  power,  was  at  hand.  There  it  came,  tumbling  along  into 
that  long  reach  of  ciilTs,  and  in  a  moment  filled  it  with  one  mass  of 
waves.  Huge,  agitated  clouds  of  foam  rode  on  the  surface  of  a 
blood-red  torrent.  An  army  must  have  been  swept  off  by  that  floud. 
The  soldiers  perished  in  a  moment ;  but  high  up  in  the  cliifs,  above 
the  sweep  of  destruction,  were  the  covenanters  —  men,  women,  ami 
children,  uttering  prayers  to  God  unheard  hy  themselves  in  thai 
raging  thunder. 


298  APPENDIX. 

XYII.  —  Specimen  of  the  Eloquence  of  John  Adams. — Webster 

The  war  must  go  on.  We  must  fight  it  through.  And  if  the 
war  nrist  go  on,  why  put  off  longer  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence ?  That  measure  will  strengthen  us.  It  will  give  us  character 
abroad.  , 

Why  then,  sir,  do  we  not,  as  soon  as  possible,  change  this  from  a 
civil  to  a  national  war?  And  since  we  must  fight  it  through,  why 
not  put  ourselves  in  a  state  to  enjoy  all  the  benefits  of  victory,  if  wa 
gain  the  victory  ? 

If  we  fail,  it  can  be  no  worse  for  us.  But  we  shall  not  fail.  Tho 
cause  will  raise  up  armies ;  the  cause  will  create  navies.  The 
people,  the  people,  if  we  are  true  to  them,  will  carry  us,  and  will 
carry  themselves,  gloriously,  through  this  struggle. 

I  care  not  how  fickle  other  people  have  been  found.  I  know  the 
people  of  these  colonics ;  and  I  know  that  resistance  to  British 
aggression  is  deep  and  settled  in  their  hearts  and  cannot  be  eradi- 
cated. Every  colony,  indeed,  has  expressed  its  willingness  to  fol- 
low, if  we  but  take  the  lead.  Sir,  the  declaration  will  inspire  the 
people  with  increased  courage.  Instead  of  a  long  and  bloody  war 
for  restoration  of  privileges,  for  redress  of  grievances,  for  chartered 
immunities,  held  under  a  British  king,  set  before  them  the  glorious 
object  of  entire  independence,  and  it  will  breathe  into  them  anew  the 
breath  of  life. 

Read  this  declaration  at  the  head  of  the  army  ;•  every  sword  will 
be  drawn  from  its  scabbard,  and  the  solemn  vow  uttered,  to  maintain 
it,  or  to  perish  on  the  bed  of  honor.  Publish  it  from  the  pulpit ; 
religion  will  approve  it,  and  the  love  of  religious  liberty  will  cling 
round  it,  resolved  to  stand  with  it  or  fall  with  it.  Send  it  to  the 
public  halls ;  proclaim  it  there  ;  let  them  hear  it,  who  heard  the  first 
roar  of  the  enemy's  cannon  ;  let  them  see  it,  who  saw  their  brothers 
and  their  sons  fall  on  the  field  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  in  the  streets  of 
Lexington  and  Concord,  and  the  very  walls  will  cry  out  in  its  sup- 
port. 

Sir,  I  know  the  uncertainty  of  human  affairs,  but  I  see,  I  see 
clearly  through  this  day's  business.  You  and  I,  indeed,  may  rue  it. 
We  may  not  live  to  the  time,  when  this  declaration  shall  be  made 
good.  We  may  die  ;  die,  colonists  ;  die,  slaves ;  die,  it  may  be 
ignominiously  and  on  the  scaffold.  Be  it  so.  Be  it  so.  If  it  be  the 
pleasure  of  Heaven  that  my  country  shall  require  the  poor  offering 
of  my  life,  the  victim  shall  be  ready,  at  the  appointed  hour  of 
•acrifice,  come  when  that  hour  may.     But  while  I  do  live,  let  mo 


MISCELLANEOUS    PIECES.  299 

nave  a  ccuntry,  or  at  least  the  nope  of  a  country,  and  that  a  free 
country. 

But  whatever  may  be  our  fate,  he  assured,  he  assured,  that  this 
declaration  will  stand.  It  may  cost  treasure,  and  it  may  cost  blood  ; 
but  it  will  stand,  and  it  will  richly  compensate  for  both.  Thro-igh 
the  thick  gloom  of  the  present,  I  see  the  brightness  of  the  future,  as 
the  sun  in  heaven.  We  shall  make  this  a  glorious,  an  immortal 
day.  When  we  are  in  our  graves,  our  children  will  honor  it.  They 
will  celebrate  it  with  thanksgiving,  with  festivity,  with  bonfires,  and 
iLuminations.  On  its  annual  return  they  will  shed  tears,  copious, 
gushing  tears,  not  of  subjection  and  slavery,  not  of  agony  and  dis- 
tress, but  of  exultation,  of  gratitude,  and  of  joy. 

Sir,  before  God,  I  believe  the  hour  is  come.  My  judgment 
approves  this  measure,  and  my  whole  heart  is  in  it.  All  that  I  have, 
and  all  that  I  am,  and  all  that  I  hope,  in  this  life,  I  am  now  ready 
here  to  stake  upon  it;  and  I  leave  off,  as  I  began,  that  live  or  die,  ' 
survive  or  perish,  I  am  for  the  declaration.  It  is  my  living  senti- 
ment, and  by  the  blessing  of  God  it  shall  be  my  dying  sentiment : 
independence,  now;  and  independence  forever. 

XIV. — Results  of  the  Heroism  of  the  Pilgrims.  —  E.  Everett. 

Methinks  I  see  it  now,  that  one  solitary,  adventurous  vessel,  the 
Mayflower  of  a  forlorn  hope,  freighted  with  the  prospects  of  a  future 
state,  and  bound  across  the  unknown  sea.  I  behold  it  pursuing,  with 
a  thousand  misgivings,  the  uncertain,  the  tedious  voyage.  Suns  rise 
and  set,  and  weeks  and  months  pass,  and  winter  surprises  them  on 
the  deep,  but  brings  them  not  the  sight  of  the  wished-for  shore.  I 
see  them  now,  scantily  supplied  with  provisions,  crowded  almost  to 
suffocation  in  their  ill-stored  prison;  —  delayed  by  calms,  pursuing  a 
circuitous  route,  —  and  now  driven  in fjry  before  the  raging  tempest^ 
on  the  high  and  giddy  waves.  The  awful  voice  of  the  storm  howls 
tVrough  the  rigging.  The  laboring  masts  seem  straining  from  their 
base  ;  —  the  dismal  sound  of  the  pumps  is  heard;  —  the  ship  leaps, 
as  it  were,  madly,  from  billow  to  billow;  —  the  ocean  breaks,  and 
settles  with  ingulphing  floods  over  the  floating  deck,  and  beats  with 
deadening,  shivering  weight,  against  the  staggered  vessel.  —  I  see 
them,  escaped  from  these  perils,  pursuing  their  all  but  desperate 
undertaking,  and  landed  at  last,  after  a  five  months'  passage,  on  the 
ice-clad  rocks  of  Plymouth,  —  weak  and  weary  from  the  voyage,— 
poorly  armed,  scantily  provisioned,  depending  on  the  charity  of  their 
ship-master  for  a  draught  of  beer  on  board,  drirking  nothing  but 


300  APPENDIX. 

water  on  shore,  —  without  shelter,  —  without  means,  —  surrounded 
by  hostile  tribes. 

Shut  now  the  volume  of  history,  and  tell  me,  on  any  principle  of 
human  probability,  what  shall  be  the  fate  of  this  handful  of  adventur- 
ers.—  Tell  me,  man  of  military  science,  in  how  mooy  months  were 
they  all  swept  off  by  the  thirty  savage  tribes,  enumerated  within  the 
early  limits  of  New  England?  Tell  me,  politician,  how  long  did  this 
shadow  of  a  colony,  on  which  your  conventions  and  treaties  had  not 
smiled,  languish  on  the  distant  coast?  Student  of  history,  compare 
for  me  the  baffled  projects,  the  deserted  settlements,  the  abandoned 
adventures  of  other  times,  and  find  the  parallel  of  this.  Was  it  the 
winter's  storm,  beating  upon  the  houseless  heads  of  women  and  chil- 
dren ;  was  it  hard  labor  and  spare  meals ;  — was  it  disease,  —  was  it 
the  tomahawk,  —  was  it  the  deep  malady  of  a  blighted  hope,  a  ruined 
enterprise,  and  a  broken  heart,  aching  in  its  last  moments  at  the  re- 
collection of  the  loved  and  left  beyond  the  sea ;  was  it  some,  or  all 
of  these  united,  that  hurried  this  forsaken  company  to  their  melan- 
choly fate?  —  And  is  it  possible  that  neither  of  these  causes,  that  not 
all  combined,  were  able  to  blast  this  bud  of  hope  ?  —  Is  it  possible, 
that  from  a  beginning  so  feeble,  so  frail,  so  worthy,  not  so  much  of 
admiration  as  of  pity,  there  has  gone  forth  a  progress  so  steady,  a 
growth  so  wonderful,  an  expansion  so  ample,  a  reality  so  important, 
a  promise,  yet  to  be  fulfilled,  so  glorious  ? 


END 


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